New Canaan fire commissioners delay FY27 budget vote after payroll line items appear inconsistent

At a November meeting, the New Canaan Fire Commission agreed to delay approval of the departmentFY27 budget after finance-provided payroll figures appeared inconsistent and required verification.

The chief told commissioners finance had input $2,854,610 for full-time salaries but flagged anomalies in retirement and payroll lines. "I just realized that it's a 174% increase," the chief said, referring to an unexpected change in one line item; he said he would check with finance and a staff member, Ryan, and return with corrected numbers.

Commissioners pressed for clarification about the 401(a) and Social Security entries, noting what looked like typographic errors and inconsistent totals. "We are supposed to approve the budget," the presiding commissioner said, "but given those numbers, I don't see how I can even ask for a vote to approve them until we challenge it."

Commissioner (speaker 3) proposed tabling the budget until the next meeting so the chief and finance could supply corrected figures. The commission agreed to delay formal approval and asked the chief to follow up with finance ahead of the Dec. 9 meeting.

No formal vote on the budget took place; commissioners recorded a procedural decision to postpone action pending corrected payroll details.

What happens next: the chief will review the payroll lines with finance and provide updated figures at the next regular meeting, scheduled Dec. 9, 2025.