FY2027 budget season is starting: hearings set for late February as boards tee up policy and capital decisions

Fairfield’s FY2027 budget process is moving into its public phase, and the near-term dates matter because they define when residents can weigh in before the Board of Selectpersons and the Board of Finance begin locking the framework for tax and spending decisions.

According to local reporting, First Selectperson Christine Vitale said the administration planned to post a detailed budget timeline in early February, present a proposed budget to the Board of Selectpersons in late February, and then hold three public budget hearings from Feb. 23 to Feb. 25, 2026, followed by a Board of Selectpersons vote on March 2, 2026.

Those dates are not just calendar items. They determine whether public input arrives early enough to influence the proposal that moves forward. In most towns, once a budget is voted out of the executive board, the next boards work from that baseline; changes become harder and more politically expensive. That is why the hearings, not the final vote, often have the most leverage.

At the same time, the Board of Finance has already been using early February meetings to tee up capital and governance decisions that intersect with the budget. On Feb. 5, 2026, the Board of Finance held a regular meeting with an agenda packet posted by the town. While the specifics of each agenda line item are not the story by themselves, the meeting is a marker that (a) capital cost updates are arriving during budget season and (b) the BOF is positioning to weigh cost escalations and procurement rules that affect how money is spent.

One concrete example is the continuing focus on the tide gate work. Local reporting described the BOF as set to discuss a $2.2 million increase for the Riverside Creek tide gate project in early February. That discussion aligns with the larger capital plan picture reported this week: the town now expects full replacements at Riverside Creek and Pine Creek rather than repairs, with a reported $6.7 million cost increase tied to that shift. The budget implication is direct: when major capital scopes expand, the town must either (1) increase total bonding, (2) delay other capital projects, or (3) re-scope work again—often at the cost of future reliability.

Another example sits on the governance side: purchasing policy. A Board of Finance Purchasing Policy Subcommittee organized in late January, elected officers, and set a Feb. 23, 2026 meeting date to finalize edits, with consolidated comments due by Feb. 9, 2026. Procurement rules can look procedural, but they shape budget outcomes in two ways. First, the policy can determine how competitive bids are solicited and evaluated, which affects price. Second, the policy can determine what counts as an “exception” and how exceptions are approved, which affects control and transparency—especially during high-volume capital years.

Taken together, these items point to a budget season with two simultaneous pressures:

● Capital realism: flood-control and facility projects are not staying flat; some are getting more expensive as engineering hardens into construction scope.

● Process scrutiny: the town is actively refining purchasing policy mechanics during the same window it is preparing to present the next year’s budget.

The next step for residents is clear and date-specific: if the town holds public hearings on Feb. 23–25, 2026, that is the window to push for clarity on the tradeoffs—what the budget assumes about bonding and interest rates, which capital items are being advanced or deferred, and what procurement controls will govern a capital program that now exceeds $500 million on paper.

Sources: Town of Fairfield; local reporting.