All New Fairfield Budget stakeholders are invited by the Board of Finance to attend a Public Hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2020/2021 Education and Town Budgets to be held this Saturday, March 7th at 9:00 a.m. in the Community Room at the Senior Center.  The agenda for this hearing can be found at the Town website, NewFairfield.org.

A “stakeholder” is any person involved in or impacted by budgets including: Town citizens, elected officials, governmental administrators, Town employees, business leaders, etc., all of whom are encouraged to attend.

Feedback from stakeholders is essential to board members having a complete understanding of Town and Education needs in order to provide appropriate levels of services and resources to our community.  One of the surest ways to obtain such an understanding is to hear directly from the community members in an open forum.

Why are our budgets important to you?

Our budgets describe how your tax dollars are spent, and reflect the results of many difficult decisions, trade-offs, and prioritizations.

The Board of Finance oversees two separate budgets: Town/Municipal (Board of Selectmen) and Education (Board of Education).  Both boards must first get their respective budgets approved by the Board of Finance before they can be voted on by taxpayers at the town’s annual budget referendum.

The budgets are prepared in order to manage town and education related finances and activities that are paid for with taxpayer and state funds.  Usually there is not a sufficient amount of forecasted revenue for all desired expenditures, so compromises must be reached.  The budget process provides a mechanism where elected officials, after hearing and considering the views of the stakeholders, can reach an agreement on spending priorities.

Your opinion matters

The most direct means of having your questions, concerns and suggestions heard on any topic is by attending meetings hosted by the appropriate board for any specific question you might have.  There is always time allotted for public comment during all meetings where stakeholders can speak and ask questions.

Please keep an eye out for Public Notices in the Town Tribune, postings under the New Fairfield Events section of the Town Website, NewFairfield.org, or at the Town Hall.

Written comments directed to the Board of Finance can be be emailed to BOF@NewFairfield.org or mailed to

Town Hall at 4 Brush Hill Road,

New Fairfield to the attention of the Board of Finance

Want to get up to speed with past board meetings?

A great way to peer into past board actions and discussions is to watch prior recorded meetings on your laptop or on any device with a browser.  Just navigate to newfairfield.org/about-new-fairfield/new-fairfield-tv-on-the-web

Binge watching these recordings is a great way to get an understanding of the inner workings of the Town, and there are no commercial interruptions.

• Tom Garben, BOF Member