The $45 million Shell Game: Why Greenwich Needs Budget Transparency

Republican State Senator Ryan Fazio has made a central promise in his 2026 gubernatorial race: removing the "public benefit charge" from your utility bill. We all saw our electric bills skyrocket, but for a long time, no one knew why. It wasn't until Fazio pushed through legislation requiring utilities to separate and disclose these charges that the truth came out. That charge—representing about 20% of your bill—was being used to subsidize green energy projects and unpaid bills. Fazio's argument is simple: these are state policy costs and belong on the state budget, not hidden in your monthly energy bill.

A remarkably similar battle for transparency is unfolding right here in Greenwich.

Just as Fazio demanded clarity on utility bills, Lucia Jansen—former member of the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) and past chair of the RTM's Budget Overview Committee—has been sounding the alarm on "hidden" charges in the town budget. For years, Greenwich has carried massive expenses in its general fund that, in almost any other Connecticut town, would be assigned directly to the Board of Education (BOE).

In the Selectman's budget presentation here, the numbers are laid out in a way that obscures the true cost of education. The total budget of $543.5 million here, is broken down into three main buckets: $144.8 million for Town Services (police, public works, etc), $207.2 million for Education and a large slug of $127.5 million for Fixed Charges (health care, pensions, etc.) not assigned to either Town Services or Education. The Fixed Charges bucket here is a massive 27% of total operating expenses. According to Jansen, if you simply move school employee healthcare costs to the education side of the ledger where they belong, the school budget jumps from $207.2 million to over $250 million—a $45 million gap that is currently obscured from the public eye.

This isn’t just an accounting exercise; it changes the entire narrative around school funding. When these healthcare costs are properly allocated, the facts become impossible to ignore: Greenwich Public Schools spend $28,971 per pupil.

To put that in perspective, the Connecticut state average for per-pupil spending is approximately $22,054. This data undercuts any claim that the town is "cutting corners" or underfunding its schools. In reality, Greenwich ranks at the very top of the state in financial support for its students.

The problem isn't a lack of funding; it's a lack of disclosure. These healthcare costs are projected to grow 13%, with current trends pushing toward 15%. When these costs stay buried in "Fixed Charges," there is no pressure on the school administration to manage them or seek efficiencies.

Between the Lines: Whether it's your Eversource bill or your property tax bill, transparency is the enemy of waste. The more the sun shines, the smarter the decisions.

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