Cromwell Town Council Approves Police Budget at $4.77 Million in Second Budget Workshop
Town Council · Meeting of March 4, 2026
Cromwell Town Council approved more than two dozen department budgets Wednesday in its second straight day of budget workshops, adding a net $6,000 above the town manager's recommended figures. The council set the Police Department budget at $4,770,439, with newly appointed Police Chief telling members that rising training mandates and overtime tied to firearms qualification days for roughly 28 officers are the primary cost drivers. Legal expenses were cut to $206,775, about $33,000 below the recommended figure, after members noted that charter revision legal costs and a major lawsuit settlement that inflated last year's bill are not expected to recur.
Town Planner Andrew Armstrong won approval of a $167,280 department budget that includes a $20,000 consultant-led rewrite of the town's outdated zoning regulations, which Armstrong described as "not even salvageable" in their current form, warning that pending state housing legislation could strip local land-use authority without updated rules. The donations and dues line was held open after the council deferred a decision on the Cultural District Commission's $1,500 request, though members agreed to a $1,000 increase for the Hillside Road Cemetery Association after its president reported a $8,000 operating deficit driven by a collapse in plot sales to just two last year.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 1,270 words
Source: the Town Council meeting of March 4, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
Keep reading with a 30-day free trial
Subscribe to Middlesex County CT News to keep reading this post and get 30 days of free access to the full post archives.
Starting a trial requires a payment method. After 30 free days your subscription begins at the price shown at checkout and renews automatically until you cancel. You can cancel anytime from your account. Subscription terms
A subscription gets you:
- Subscriber-only posts and full archive
- Post comments and join the community
- 24x7 access to local news