City Council

~AD HOC REPORT~ Budget Ad Hoc: Government I April 14, 2026 Chair Joseph Britton called the meeting to order at 6:32p.m. on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. Present were Committee Members Lou Giordano, Claire Jabbour, Paul Rotello, and Michael Henry. From the City were Dan Garrick, Finance Director; Kara Prunty, Assistant Finance Director (Budgets & Grants); Joanne Stark, Assistant Finance Director (Operations); Roberto Alves, Mayor; Taylor O’Brien, Chief of Staff, Mayor’s Office; Farley Santos, Community and Economic Advisor. Department Heads in attendance were Judge Joseph DaSilva, Probate Court; Mark Howarth, Executive Director of the Candlewood Lake Authority; Katie Pearson, Director of the Danbury Public Library; Waleed Albakry, Director of Planning and Zoning; Sean Hearty, Permit Center Coordinator; Joan Bielizna, Registrar of Voters; Laurie Esposito, Town Clerk; Elisa Etcheto, Legislative Assistant; Robin Edwards, Deputy Corporation Counsel. Ex Officio Members present were: Peter Buzaid, Andrea Gartner, Dennis Perkins, Diane LaPine, Mia Spain- Reichl, Ben Chianese, Ryan Hawley and Michael Coelho. Probate Court Judge DaSilva identified a misprint in the budget, the total for Office Equipment should be $500; Chair Britton confirmed the correction will be made for the final budget. Member Duane Perkins asked for further clarification of the correction; Judge DaSilva explained that printing costs have gone down. Candlewood Lake Authority Member Perkins asked about the cost of Carp clean-ups; Mr. Howarth confirmed that there are multiple clean-ups that are planned and that the cost is covered by the Authority in the reserve budget. Member Hawley asked if the Authority allocates monies to FirstLight; Mr. Howarth explained that FirstLight contributes to the Authority however, there are application fees that are required if an application is filed with FirstLight. Mr. Buzaid and Ms. LaPine asked if all Authority members contribute funds; Mr. Howarth confirmed all applicable municipalities pay a n equal membership fee. Conservation Commission – No questions. Fair Rent Commission – No questions. Long Ridge Library Member Duane Perkins provided a message from the librarian thanking the city for the funding. Danbury Public Library Member Chianese asked is there is anything that this budget does not fund; Ms. Pearson noted that all of the library programming is funded by the Friends of the Library. Mr. Coelho asked about funding from the Friends of the Library; Ms. Pearson confirmed that the organization has contributed about $175,000. Member Flanagan thanked the staff for the programs they provide the community. Planning & Zoning Member Chianese asked for an update on the department’s scanning project; Mr. Albakry confirmed that the project is about 60% complete and funding for the remainder of the project are in another department's budget. Member Duane Perkins asked about staffing for GIS mapping; Mr. Albakry confirmed that there is not currently a staff member dedicated to mapping but that it would be helpful. Office of Business Advocacy Member LaPine asked about the location of this office’s budget; Ms. O’Brien clarified that it is part of the Mayor’s Office budget. Permit Center/Coordination – No questions. Registrar of Voters Member Hawley asked if funds are pre-planned for primaries; Ms. Bielizna explained that they do plan for primaries that usually take place, however, sometimes there are unexpected primaries that can not be allocated for ahead of time. Member Chianese asked about an increase to line item 543001 Office Equipment; Ms. Bielizna confirmed that the state has requirements and contracts that they must follow and that there have been new mandates for specific equipment. Town Clerk Member Flanagan asked if all borths and deaths that occur at Danbury Hospital must be filed with the Town Clerk and if so, that means that Danbury has a much larger workload than surrounding municipalities; Ms. Esposito confirmed both. Ms. Esposito also discussed the preservation of old records and the digitization of records which the office continues to seek and apply for grant funding to continue. Member Henry asked about challenges with using regular mail services for Absentee Ballots; Ms. Esposito confirmed that regular mail services are very slow and that they have discussed having the office’s own postage machine to expedite the process. Member Duane Perkins asked about funds for a postage machine and new software that is required by the state. Mr. Chianese asked if the increased budgets for postage and legal notices; Ms. Esposito confirmed that postage increased due to the number of Absentee Ballots they had to mail and that legal notices are now required to be translates and printed in both English and Spanish. Mr. Buzaid asked for the amount of revenue that the department brings in; Ms. O’Brien confirmed the numbers are predicted to be $5.8M this year, and $6.2M next year due to increased fees. Ms. Gartner asked if the proposed budget will be enough; Ms. Esposito explained that there are factors that make it hard to predict including how busy elections will be. Legislative Assistant – No questions. City Council – No questions. Corporation Counsel Member Duane Perkins asked if additional litigation funds are expected to be requested; Ms. Edwards explained that there are new attorneys in the office who are expected to help save more money, however, law suits are unpredictable. Chair Britton spoke to the amount of work that is done by only three attorneys in Danbury compared to other municipalities and asked about adding more attorneys; Ms. Edwards and Ms. O’Brien confirmed that they are still transitioning the current attorneys and that once the training is complete they are hoping to expand the staff, they also noted the addition of a paralegal who has been a great addition. Ms. LaPine asked what the difference was between Professional Services and Legal Services; Ms. Edwards explained that Professional Services includes outside legal work by attorneys or firms that are specialized in a certain subject or focused on litigation, and Legal Services is the use of additional attorneys and firms who are appointed to assist the department. Mayor’s Office Member Duane Perkins asked if there would be any changes to the present salary rates; Ms. O’Brien confirmed that the office staff are non-union and the amounts would remain the same. Mr. Chianese asked about lobbying costs; Ms. O’Brien explained that the City and BOE still split the cost however the lobbyists now receive one payment instead of one from each entity. Mr. Chianese asked that the Council receive regular lobbyist updates; which Ms’ O’Brien confirmed would be provided. Ms. Jabbour asked about a significant jump in the line item titled Education Credits, and asked about Training Courses, and Conferences; Ms. O’Brien confirmed that there is staff that will qualify for the City’s reimbursement of a portion of education costs, and that staff are encouraged to obtain training and certifications. Mr. Coelho asked about adjustments to Contract, Professional, and Communications Services; Ms. O’Brien discussed the reallocation of some funds to cover software maintenance, marketing outreach, and website management. A motion was made by Council member McAllister, and seconded by Council member Flanagan, to Propose a 3% raise to the Registrars of Voters effective December 1, 2026 and July 1 2027. Motion Carried Unanimously. A motion was made by Council member Duane Perkins, and seconded by Council member Flanagan, to approve Government I budget to the full city council as presented. Motion Carried Unanimously. A motion was made by Council member Flanagan and seconded by Council member McAllister, to adjourn. Motion Carried Unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Joseph Britton, Chair; Michael Flanagan, Duane Perkins, William McAllister and Mike Henry