With more than $524 million in town projects on the horizon, officials are grappling with how to manage rising costs and potential tax increases. At a series of finance board meetings this week, officials from the town, school board and Water Pollution Control Authority said that rising inflation, a reliance on federal pandemic funds and years of deferred projects have driven up current cost estimates for the foreseeable future. According to the town’s new 10-year capital plan, projects include a $65.7 million rebuild of the aged Dwight Elementary School, a $49.7 million renovation of
Jennings Elementary School, more than $42 million in sewer line design, construction and replacement projects, and about $21.8 million in overdue fire station renovations and replacement fire vehicles. Chief Operating Officer David Becker, also chief of the Southport Volunteer Fire Department, urged the need to upgrade the town’s five fire stations. Of the more than $21.8 million in Fire Department-related expenses in the capital plan, improvements to the firehouses account for about $9.2 million from fiscal year 2026 until fiscal year 2031.
Fairfield Braces For Tax Hikes as $524M in Town Projects Loom