Norwalk approves upcoming budget

NORWALK - Norwalk City Council approved the city’s Fiscal Year 2020/21 budget at their meeting on Tuesday, totaling over $158 million in expenditures.

The budget is split between over $55 million in general funds, and over $103,725,000 in restricted funds.

The General Fund represents 35% of the city’s entire spending plan.

Major components of the FY 20/21 budget include:

-          The general fund revenue estimates, currently projected to increase by $6.5 million to a total of $53.2 million,

-          Departmental revenues, which – with the exception of those collected by Public Safety and Community Development – are expected to decrease by a total of $723 thousand, and

-          Additional available resources of $640 thousand resulting from loan principal repayments and release of the committed fund balance.

Due to the economic impact of COVID-19, the level of provided services had to be adjusted to match available operating revenues in both current and upcoming fiscal years. As a result, FY 2020/21 proposed General Fund operating expenditures will increase only by 1%, $350 thousand from already lowered current fiscal year levels.

In fact, the initially proposed FY 2020/21 operating and capital outlay budget of $51.3 million was reduced by $3.7 million (7%) from the originally anticipated pre-COVID-19 budget of $55 million. As such, all departments - with the exception of Public Safety, which increased by $1.3 million - will operate in FY 2020/21 with reduced operating budgets.

Further explanation of the city’s upcoming budget can be found on the city’s website, with the agenda from this week’s meeting.

The budget was approved unanimously.