Thank Democrats for Record High Budget at Home and Broken Guardrails in Hartford

Friends,

This week Greenwich's left-leaning Representative Town Meeting (RTM) approved a record $688 million FY27 budget, with a capital plan that more than doubles to $92 million. The Democrat-led Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET), which brought us this lavish budget, is expected to set the final mill rate next week. Buckle up friends; many of you will see higher property tax bills in July, and the Town’s own capital plan signals that elevated spending is here for the next several years. Elections truly do have consequences.

The pressure is not only local. Last week, with the help of Greenwich Reps Arzeno and Meskers, the Connecticut General Assembly blew through the fiscal guardrails by $814 million to fund what Senator Ryan Fazio and Representative Tina Courpas called “one-time election-year payouts.” The guardrails, put in place in 2017 to stop exactly this kind of irresponsible budgeting, are being systematically dismantled by Democrats near and far. State labor costs are rising. Long-term obligations are growing and Greenwich taxpayers continue to carry a disproportionate share of the bill.

In this edition, we walk through what happened in Greenwich and in Hartford, what it means for your wallet, and why one-party control in Connecticut keeps producing the same result. We also highlight the work of the Selectman’s AI Task Force led by Selectwoman Lauren Rabin, a serious effort to bring artificial intelligence to town government in a way that saves time and protects taxpayers.

There is a lot at stake this fall. Thank you for staying engaged, and thank you for standing with us.

— Greenwich Republicans

Legislative Wrap-Ups: Greenwich and Hartford

On Monday, the Greenwich Representative Town Meeting approved a record-high $688 million FY27 budget, including a more than doubling of the capital plan to $92 million. The budget cleared without any major changes to the BET’s preliminary proposal. The Town’s Capital Plan projects continued elevated capital spending for at least the next three fiscal years, averaging roughly $130 million for the General Fund and about $200 million in total when sewer improvements are included.

Hartford’s record is worse. Senator Ryan Fazio and Representative Tina Courpas reported that the new state budget “blew through CT’s Fiscal Guardrails” by $814 million, largely to pay for one-time election-year giveaways. The guardrails were enacted in 2017 to restrain exactly this kind of fiscal recklessness, and they worked. Now they are being dismantled. Representatives Steve Meskers and Hector Arzeno both voted for the budget. The Legislature also approved another round of pay increases for state employees, in a state that already pays some of the highest public sector compensation in the country.

What Happens When Democrats Get Everything They Want