Budget season begins in Cornwall

CORNWALL — Municipal spending in Cornwall is expected to increase by more than 5% next year.

First Selectman Gordon Ridgway presented the proposed spending plan for 2026-27 to the Board of Finance on Thursday, Feb. 19.

The bottom line was $2,654,985, an increase of 5.61% compared to 2025-26.

“Of our roughly $150,000 increase, $42,000 is for the health insurance,” he said.

Ridgway explained the town is under contract with the highway union to provide a certain level of insurance. The current plan is through the state insurance pool, which covers all state employees and many municipalities.

Finance chairman Joe Pryor questioned if there was any way to address the insurance hike. “It’s obviously way past inflation,” Pryor said.

“The program that we’re under now had the best price,” Ridgway said. “But we can dig in, see if there’s some options there.”

In the spending plan, municipal employees were given a 3% raise.

The plan showed a 35.42% increase, about $11,500, to wages for the Zoning Enforcement Office. Ridgway said the new officer, Spencer Musselman, is working more hours than the previous ZEO and processing more permits.

There was a new line for $20,000 under the Town Office Administration section in order to pay for a new “.gov” website, which all town governments in Connecticut are required to transition to by mid 2027.

The capital spending plan showed a net hike of $75,000 compared to the current fiscal year. Capital spending is separate from the municipal budget and the money allocated to each line can carry over into future years, such as a fire truck fund.

The primary increase in capital spending was $40,000 for town building improvements. There was also $20,000 added to property revaluation assessments, which will next be completed in October 2026.

The next step in the budget process will be March 19 when Cornwall Consolidated School presents the elementary school’s spending plan.