Cromwell council approves most of FY2027 budget, tables building department line

Town Council · Meeting of March 5, 2026

Cromwell Town Council approves bulk of fiscal year 2027 general fund budget across a nearly four-hour workshop. The council, meeting March 5 with member Brian Bonneau absent, voted unanimously on more than a dozen department budgets including a $5,530,145 employee benefits line, a $3,641,063 debt service appropriation, and a $466,404 Board of Education capital non-reoccurring package that included a new $50,000 partial telephone system upgrade at one school. Library Director Kara Canney and Senior Center and Human Services Director Amy Saada each received unanimous approval for step increases to pay plan E, level 5, step 6, with no frozen ceiling — a point of debate with Town Manager Tony Salvatore, who had recommended capping progression at step 7.

The Youth Services Assistant position was extended to full-time contingent on continued National Opioid Settlement Fund payments, guaranteed for roughly 18 years. The building department budget was tabled to a March 11 special meeting after council members raised pointed questions about a permitting software contract that had consumed an estimated $96,000 in its first year without going live to the public.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 1,148 words

Source: the Town Council meeting of March 5, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

CROMWELL — March 5, 2026 — The Cromwell Town Council approved the majority of its fiscal year 2027 general fund budget at a nearly four-hour special budget workshop Thursday, clearing line items totaling millions of dollars across more than a dozen departments and voting to elevate two department directors to a higher pay classification.

The session, chaired by Mayor James Demetriades, worked through library, human services, senior services, transportation, youth services, town manager, human resources, finance, general expenses, employee benefits, and debt service budgets. Member Brian Bonneau was absent. The council tabled the building department budget after a pointed exchange about an unfinished permitting software contract, leaving that item and several other loose ends for a special meeting scheduled Wednesday, March 11, at 6 p.m.

The Full Story

The evening opened with an unusually large showing of citizen commenters — the first public speakers to appear at any of this year's budget workshops, Mayor Demetriades noted — nearly all of them urging the council to grant a salary increase to Senior Center and Human Services Director Amy Saada. Six residents spoke, including Deidre Daily, who identified herself as chair of the Cromwell Senior Commission, and Bonnie Sprague of 179 Woodland Drive, who praised Saada's leadership through the COVID-19 outbreak. Mayor Demetriades also read into the record a letter from Youth Services Assistant Jessica Zeedyk, a town employee and Cromwell resident, in support of both Saada and the department's budget.

The council voted unanimously to approve step increases from E-4 to E-5, step 6, for both Library Director Kara Canney and Saada, moving each to a higher pay table with no frozen step ceiling — a departure from the town manager's original recommendation to freeze progression at step 7. Town Manager Tony Salvatore had recommended the move to E-5 but suggested the freeze; several council members pushed back, with Mayor Demetriades framing the cap as punitive given the complexity of both directors' roles.

"I do think that the request without the GWI is a relatively small jump between the 109 to the 117. I think it's reasonable that directors that are doing as much as the two of them are doing move like that." [00:53:23] — Mayor James Demetriades

The council also set the incoming Human Resources director position at pay plan E, level 5, with no step assigned pending hire.

Among the night's more consequential decisions, the council voted unanimously to extend the Youth Services Assistant position to full-time status, contingent on the town continuing to receive payments from the National Opioid Settlement Fund. Mayor Demetriades noted the settlement payments are guaranteed for roughly 18 years, after which the council said a future body would need to revisit the arrangement.

On the Board of Education capital non-reoccurring request, the council scrutinized 18 items presented by Claudio, the school facilities director, spending more than an hour on questions about phone systems, security cameras, HVAC design, and carpeting replacement. The council approved a $466,404 Board of Education CNR package, adding $50,000 for a partial telephone system upgrade at one school — restoring an item the town manager had not recommended — while accepting the rest of the town manager's priorities. The overall capital plan for town facilities came in at approximately $2,066,649, down from $2.2 million the prior year, in part because the council voted to reduce the Nooks Hill Road pump house demolition allocation from $100,000 to $4,150, directing that only pre-demolition lead and asbestos surveys be funded now.

The building department budget was tabled after Finance Director Sharon Devoe and the town manager disclosed that a permitting software contract, which council members said had cost taxpayers roughly $96,000 in its first year, was still not live with the public. Member Jamin DeProto expressed frustration with the pace of implementation.

"I'm spending $90,000 in year one for a product we don't have yet." [01:07:31] — Member Jamin DeProto

The council also wrapped up unfinished business from the previous day's session, approving $2,500 for the Cromwell Cultural District Commission out of the donations and dues line, with the balance of cultural district matters deferred to the March 11 meeting. The donations and dues budget was approved at $64,666.

"I think there are some improvements that we want to make to the process as we continue to grow and change and learn. But I think that I don't see personally where there's a lot of fat to be trimmed." [02:22:26] — Mayor James Demetriades

Why It Matters

The budget now moves to the Board of Finance for hearings before going to a town-wide referendum on May 5. Last year, Mayor Demetriades noted, only about 500 of Cromwell's roughly 11,000 registered voters cast ballots on the budget. The decisions made Thursday — including the two director pay upgrades, the full-time expansion of the youth services position tied to opioid settlement funds, and the $466,404 school capital package — will directly affect the mill rate. The incomplete building department budget and remaining questions about the permitting software contract will be addressed at the March 11 meeting, which starts at 6 p.m., ahead of a public hearing at 6:45 p.m. Any council member seeking to revisit Thursday's decisions was asked to notify the mayor by noon Tuesday.

Key Motions & Votes

- Vote: Approve $2,500 for the Cultural District (Donations and Dues line) Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve Donations and Dues budget at $64,666 Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Step increase from E-4 to E-5 for Library Director Kara Canney Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve Library budget at $817,502 Tally: Approved unanimously

• Action: Building Department budget — Tabled to March 11, 2026

- Vote: Step increase from E-4 to E-5 for Human Services Director Amy Saada Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve Human Services Administration budget at $160,949 Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve Senior Services budget at $188,302 (including $2,600 added to part-time wages) Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve Transportation Services budget at $181,416 Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Extend Youth Services Assistant to full-time, contingent on National Opioid Settlement Fund payments Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve Youth Services budget at $144,898 Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve Town Manager's Office budget at $366,802 Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Set Human Resources Director pay plan at E-5 Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve Human Resources Department budget at $149,178 Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve Finance Department/Treasurer budget at $499,163 Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve Board of Education CNR request at $466,404 Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve Employee Benefits budget at $5,530,145 Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve Debt Service budget at $3,641,063 Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve General Expenses budget at $2,066,649 Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Adjourn Tally: Approved unanimously

Source

Cromwell's community access TV: Town Council meeting, March 5, 2026