Danbury Council approves 2026-27 budget after amendment to apply new state funds and lower mill rate

The Danbury City Council approved the city's fiscal 2026-27 budget on May 5 after amending the tax-levy resolution to reflect additional revenue from the state of Connecticut, a change the mayor said will reduce the proposed mill-rate increase to below 1%.

Mayor Roberto Alves told the council that, now that Hartford's numbers are known, he wanted the body to amend the draft to include the state-assigned revenues and pass along the savings to taxpayers. "Now that we know what the numbers are, I am asking this council to amend the budget to include those revenues assigned to us from Hartford," the mayor said, arguing the amendment would lower the mill rate for Danbury residents.

Council President Peter Buzade moved the ordinance making appropriations for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, and the council considered five ad hoc committee reports covering general government, health and human services, public works and education before taking the main motion. Majority Leader Salvatore moved to amend the resolution levying property taxes to reflect the new state funding; corporation counsel advised that changing the resolution requires a majority vote while appropriations require two-thirds where specified. Councilman Rotello asked whether a two-thirds threshold applied to the amendment; the corporation counsel replied the property tax resolution is a majority vote.

After the amendment was offered and debated, the council voted on the amended main motion and approved the budget. The chair announced the budget "passes" after a voice vote in which one member registered opposition; the council roll indicated 19 members were present for the meeting, so the final voice tally was recorded in the meeting as 18 in favor, 1 opposed.

The ordinance adopted appropriations for operating programs and included standard committee-reported changes. Council members who spoke in favor cited conservative planning during the process and the advantage of applying known state revenues to reduce taxpayer burden; dissenters raised procedural questions about thresholds for amending appropriations.

The council also approved a separate $3.0 million appropriation for capital public improvements, authorizing bonds and temporary borrowing to meet the appropriation. That bond authorization passed by voice vote.

What happens next: The council's appropriation ordinance and tax-levy resolution take effect for the 2026-27 fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026. Any department- or program-specific implementation will proceed under the city's normal budget administration and reporting processes.