The Danbury City Council is traditionally the voting body on local budgets, but residents in the past have been able to vote on bonding.  Now because of coronavirus, the planned bond vote has been scrapped.  The vote was going to be held when the state's presidential primary took place, but now that it's been moved to August Danbury is changing course. 

Mayor Mark Boughton says the City is still seeking the $62 million in funding.  Per the Governor's Executive Order, the City Council will decide whether to accept or reject the bond.

An email address will be created to accept public comment for 10 days. 

There's more than $23 million for the schools to add classroom space and replace elevators.  The City needs to meet a June 30th deadline in order to obtain a state grant, which would cover 60 percent of eligible costs.  Boughton says if they miss that deadline, there could be kids that don't have a spot in the fall. The classrooms would go on the first floor of the Osborne Street building, with administrative offices moving to a renovated second floor. Maintenance crews would move into the Department of Public Works building.  But the first set of new classrooms likely would not open until 2021. 

According to demographers, Danbury's student enrollment could increase by as much as 7.1 percent over the next 10 years.  The other school bond money would go toward adding classroom space at the middle school level.  Architectural and engineering work would also be paid for with the funding.

On the municipal side, the money includes downtown streetscapes, energy efficiency projects and parks.  The bulk of the bonding for the City would go toward paving, drainage improvements and repairing or replacing bridges. 

$8.55 million for streetscaping in the CityCenter area calls for concrete sidewalks, with a granite inlay, and landscaping. A previous $4 million streetscape plan, half paid for through a state grant, only covers about half of the sidewalks included in the Transit Oriented Development study.  That money would be supplemented by the latest proposed funding.

The Fire Department needs additional space to house apparatus and alleviate space constraints at fire headquarters.  A storage facility is planned adjacent to Engine 26 near the airport.  The funding for the parks include drainage and field improvements, acquisition of land, environmental remediation, signage and access improvements.