The annual Town budget process is nearly complete. The various boards have done their work, and now residents have the opportunity to add their voice by voting in the annual budget referendum on Tuesday, May 13, at Yanity Gym.
The 2025-2026 Town Budgets
In early April the Board of Finance (BOF) unanimously approved a proposed town and school budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year of $174.8 million. The budget includes funding for town operations and road maintenance ($47.1 million), school district operations ($119.8 million), and debt service payments ($7.9 million). After factoring in growth of the town’s tax base (Grand List) over the past year and other revenue sources such as investment income, the proposed budget will result in a mill rate increase of 3.98% if approved by voters.
The mill rate is applied to your property’s assessed value to determine your tax bill for the coming year. For a house with a market value of $730,000 (which corresponds to the current median assessed property value of around $510,000), this mill rate change would produce an increase of about $530 for the 2025-26 tax year.
The proposed budget maintains town services at existing levels, and also includes two important additions to education services. The school district is moving forward with the second of its three-year plan to provide a world-language program at the elementary level. After several years of discussion and planning, the district will also be implementing a gifted and talented program at the elementary level, with the creation of a district coordinator position.
The Capital Budget
The ballot in May will also include several questions on the town’s capital budget. This year’s recommended capital funding is set at $7.1 million, which as a percentage of the operating budget is lower than the past several years. Among the items included in this portion of the budget are:
- Adding another $500,000 of funding for repaving of tertiary roads and cul-de-sacs throughout town
- Several public recreation facilities projects, including renovations to the tennis courts at Ridgefield High School and work on several school playgrounds and athletic fields and to some Rec Center facilities
- Replacements and upgrades to police and fire equipment such as radios and fire protective gear
- Cost-saving LED lighting upgrades at Ridgefield High School
- Replacements and upgrades of visual and performing arts equipment at various schools
- Several sidewalk and guardrail replacement projects
This Year’s Budget Challenges
After several years of favorable experience, the school district saw a pickup in claims in its health insurance program, resulting in a significant (14%) jump in its insurance premiums. At the same time, the state’s Excess Cost Recovery funding for special education will be lower next year by almost one-third, adversely impacting the school budget by $450,000. As has been discussed in prior budget analyses, debt service costs are increasing again now that the borrowings for the school “bundle” (done in 2001 and 2003) have been paid off. Finally, the rate of growth in the “Grand List” (the tax base used in calculating the mill rate) lagged behind the recent historical trend, primarily due to changes in the way vehicles are valued and assessed.
Notwithstanding these “budget headwinds”, the town continues to manage its costs and budget in a thoughtful manner, so that over the past six years both the operating budget and the property tax levy have grown at a slower rate than the rate of inflation by a noticeable margin.
In addition to recommending the annual budget, the Board of Finance is also responsible for overseeing the town’s financial position, and particularly the level of funds maintained as reserves against unexpected budget costs or revenue fluctuations. Coming out of this year’s deliberations, the Board is projecting a reserve level of 11.8% of this year’s budget, near the top end of the policy range of 9%-12% that was set in 2024. The board felt this was a reasonable position in light of the several uncertainties facing the town in terms of interest rate levels and the overall trends in the economy.
Now It is Your Turn
We encourage everyone to study, and more importantly, to come out to vote in support of this year’s budget proposals. The budgets have been carefully developed and provide needed and valuable services to town residents. The resulting cost represents a reasonable investment in maintaining the high level and quality of services you have come to expect and enjoy as residents of Ridgefield.
The town budget referendum will be held this year on Tuesday, May 13th. Voting is open from 6am to 8pm at Yanity Gym. Prior to that, on the evening of May 5, residents are invited to attend the annual Town Budget Meeting, which will include presentations on the budget by town and school officials and voting on the items in the capital budget under $100,000 in cost.
Please play your part in our town democracy by coming out to vote in support of all of the budget proposals.
The authors are members of the Ridgefield Board of Finance. The opinions expressed in this article are solely their own, and are not intended to represent the positions of the Board of Finance.