Danbury saved about $4 million in the last fiscal year. The City Council will look into taking $3.7 million of that and using it for two separate projects.

One is a $2 million reserve for unused vacation time to reduce the financial stress on current operations.  Mayor Mark Boughton says it's a legacy benefit for people who’ve been long-time City employees. The ability for non-union employees to roll over vacation ends July 1st.  As a result of the modification to the non-union pension ordinance, auditors are requiring this reserve fund be established  Boughton says this will allow vacant positions to be filled immediately if necessary.

The other part is a $1.7 million reserve for capital projects. $75,000 for a major emergency elevator repair at ACE would be used immediately.  A $325,000 capital fund for emergency projects, authorized by the Mayor’s Office, and $1.3 million for capital projects in the 2017-2018 fiscal year budget would be set aside

The elevator at ACE, which is needed for handicap accessibility, has not been working for several months. It required more money than was available in the Public Works budget. The money for emergency repairs is being set aside so that Boughton doesn’t have to keep calling in the City Council every other week because a boiler burst at a school, for example.  This would be different than the contingency fund, which is for bigger capital items.