Rilling Reflects On Norwalk's 2024 Achievements, Goals For 2025

NORWALK, CT — Mayor Harry Rilling has provided Patch with a detailed statement reflecting on the city's achievements in 2024 and his goals for Norwalk in 2025.

Below is the mayor's statement in full, provided by the city:

Mayor Harry Rilling's Statement for 2024 Achievements and 2025 Goals

Every day, the city of Norwalk strives to provide our residents with the services they need and deserve to enhance livability, and I'm proud of the progress we continue to make.

In 2025, my top priorities include continuing to invest in our schools, making Norwalk the greenest city in CT, enhancing quality of life for our residents, keeping taxes as low as possible, continuing to keep crime down, supporting our business community and increasing transparency to improve services for residents.

(See also: Norwalk Leaders' New Year's Resolutions For 2025)

Here are some of the highlights from our work in 2024 and several of my administration's goals for 2025.

Investing in our Schools

• Beginning with schools, in 2024, we made major investments in education, including completing the groundbreaking of the South Norwalk neighborhood school and the new Norwalk High School. In the fall of 2025, the brand new, state-of-the-art South Norwalk School, the community's first neighborhood school in over 40 years, will open its doors to welcome students. It will be the city's first school construction project under the new state reimbursement rate of 60 percent. We also couldn't be happier to be receiving an 80 percent reimbursement rate from the state for the new Norwalk High School, which is projected to welcome students in the fall of 2027. These incredible reimbursement rates will save taxpayers millions upon millions of dollars while creating state-of-the-art learning environments for our children.
• In 2024, we prioritized securing the funding to improve the heating and cooling systems in six more of our schools: Brien McMahon High School, Brookside Elementary School, Marvin Elementary School, Naramake Elementary School, Rowayton Elementary School and Silvermine Dual Language Magnet School. Through city funding and a $21 million state grant, this major investment in our student's education facilities will help maximize student success by fostering optimal and equitable learning environments. Since 2018, the city has also invested capital funding into upgrading HVAC systems at several other schools, including Cranbury Elementary School, Jefferson Marine Science Elementary School, Kendall College and Career Academy, Nathan Hale Middle School, Roton Middle School and Ponus Ridge School Campus.

Sustainability

• Earlier this year, I stated that I was determined to make Norwalk the greenest city in CT. This year, we released the city's first draft of our Sustainability and Resilience Plan, a roadmap to build upon our climate resilience efforts. It was developed to identify new ways we can build a pipeline of viable sustainability projects at the city level, and in 2025, we will bring on a Director of Sustainability and Resilience to help more of this work come to fruition.

• To lower our carbon footprint, we have expanded our electric vehicle and hybrid fleet and invested in electric vehicle infrastructure across the city. We now have seven electric vehicles and 20 electric vehicle chargers. We installed 12 electric vehicle chargers at City Hall, two at the police department, and six at the Public Works facility on Smith Street.

• We have also remained committed to increasing walkability and connectivity to help reduce the number of cars on the road and enhance the quality of life for residents. In November, we officially adopted a Complete Streets Ordinance, a transportation policy and design approach that aims to strengthen multimodal transportation networks and improve safety for users of all modes of transportation. This design approach will help us continue to expand safe, convenient and comfortable alternatives and viable modes of transportation like walking and biking, therefore helping to reduce car congestion.

• In November, we also broke ground on our Wall Street revitalization efforts, a major infrastructure project that includes investing in wider sidewalks and creating pedestrian-friendly crossings. The project also aims to help make this downtown area the vibrant urban corridor it once was before the 1955 flood and support our local business community. This year, the city started Phase 1 of the project, which includes the construction of sidewalks, streetscape, bike lanes and roadway improvements along Wall Street/East Wall Street from Main Street to Brook Street. In 2025, we will work on completing the design of Phase 2 of the project, which includes the conversion of Burnell Blvd. into two-way traffic operations and the transition of the current Norwalk Transit Bus Hub into a mini-pulse point operation with buses boarding and alighting curbside. Phase 2 will also solidify the Harbor Loop Trail extension to the north and provide a cyclist connection in the corridor.

• We are very committed to enhancing safe, accessible transportation for everyone, which is reflected through our Safety Action Plan. The Plan highlights a shift towards a more inclusive and equitable future that expands safety for different modes of transportation. In September, the city was recognized by the CT Department of Transportation for the Plan and Norwalk's commitment to adopting a Vision Zero policy to help prevent roadway tragedies by improving areas across the city with expanded pedestrian, cyclist, and driver safety improvements. In 2025, we plan to continue the critical infrastructure work to improve safety in these areas.

• In 2024, we also finalized a number of major green infrastructure projects, as well as our Stormwater Management Plan. We completed the Dreamy Hollow neighborhood Drainage Improvement Project, which will dramatically reduce flooding in this neighborhood, and in 2025, we plan to complete the Lockwood Lane and Heather Lane Storm Drainage Improvement Project. This project proactively addresses the threats of climate change by making sure neighborhood residents are equipped with sustainable and resilient infrastructure to mitigate flooding conditions.

• To increase our sustainability efforts, this year the city completed its Solid Waste Strategic Plan. In 2025, we look forward to reducing the amount of solid waste in our collection system by shifting towards more sustainability programs, as well as improving the level of service and finding new ways to reduce costs.

• Overall, in 2025, we will continue reducing greenhouse gas emissions by installing more sidewalks and bike lanes, increasing our composting efforts, expanding green infrastructure, adding to our urban tree canopy, and employing more climate-friendly transit-oriented development projects.

Quality of Life

• We have also been focused on continuing to enhance residents' quality of life. In June, the city of Norwalk was once again ranked among the top 100 best places to live in the U.S. by livability.com and last year, Fortune Magazine named Norwalk the 29th best city in the nation to live in.

• In 2024, our Public Works team planted 452 trees, pruned 336 trees, paved 37 roads, installed 3.2 miles of new sidewalks, swept 9,470 miles of streets and cleaned 1,600 catch basins. In 2025, we look forward to continuing these initiatives across the city.

• To benefit residents' health and well-being, this past year, our Recreation and Parks team expanded youth and family recreation programs, installed 14 brand-new pickleball courts, renovated several new playgrounds, including Kendall Playground, Bouton Street Playground and Flax Hill Playground, opened a brand-new state of the art Skate Park at Calf Pasture Beach and started several trail design projects. In 2025, we plan to build upon our 10-year Recreation and Parks Master Plan, which includes upgrading our dog parks. We plan to open Oyster Shell Park Dog Park, a brand-new dog park in South Norwalk, install a waterline for dogs there, and create a new waterline at Taylor Farm Dog Park.

• We also recently completed the first-floor renovation of the South Norwalk Library, providing a more modern, accessible, and comfortable space for the community. In 2025, we plan to enhance online library access by improving digital resources, such as downloadable books, and offering more online services for library patrons to make resources readily accessible at their convenience.

• Finally, to make a lasting impact on improving residents' lives, I'm proud that in 2024, our Community Resource Hub helped over 1,200 households connect with essential local social service providers, a 53 percent increase from the previous year. This program was also honored with a 2024 Municipal Excellence Award, recognizing its impact in improving community well-being.

Finance

• One of my main goals in 2025, consistent with previous years, is to keep taxes as low as possible while addressing residents' critical funding and service needs. This year's budget presents new and unique challenges, largely due to the city completing a revaluation in 2023, which increased home values and property taxes due to a decline in commercial property values. The revaluation led to the Norwalk Board of Estimation and Taxation implementing a four-year phase-in, which allows the city to help ease the burden on Norwalk taxpayers by only including one-quarter of the full property increase from each year instead of one large increase in a single fiscal year. During this upcoming budget season, these fiscal circumstances continue to call for creative solutions to lessen the tax burden on residents. In the past month, I've met with each department and asked them to continue making budget cuts and find efficiencies to lessen the burden on taxpayers.

• Norwalk continues to have a lower mill rate than other similarly sized municipalities, such as Stamford, Hartford, Bridgeport, and Waterbury. However, with the high cost of living, it remains a top priority for my administration to lessen the burden on taxpayers as much as we possibly can.

• Furthermore, to try to address the high cost of living, this year, the city completed a draft of the city's Affordable Housing Plan after establishing an Affordable Housing Committee. In 2025, we will begin to implement the goals of this plan to help make housing more affordable where possible.

• I also want to continue Norwalk's track record of strong fiscal management, smart budgeting practices, and maintaining a healthy Rainy Day Fund. These factors all contributed to the major credit rating agencies reaffirming our 'AAA' bond rating in 2024, alerting investors that Norwalk is a responsible and financially stable city in which to invest.

• Lastly, earlier this year, we were proud that Norwalk was included on WalletHub's newly released list of "Best Small Cities in America," which examines a city's economic health, affordability, education, health, and quality of life.

Crime

• This year, the Connecticut State Police Crimes Analysis Unit published its Annual Report on the Uniform Crime Reporting program. Overall, crime in Norwalk is down. The city saw a decrease of 7.7 percent in crimes reported per 1,000 residents from 41.4 in 2022 to 38.2 in 2023, and we want to continue these trends in 2025. The incident analysis found that the number of crimes against persons reported in the city of Norwalk decreased by 7 percent, while the incidents decreased by 3.8 percent statewide from 2022 data. It also found that the number of crimes against property in the city of Norwalk decreased by 11.8 percent, while the incidents increased by 11.0 percent statewide from 2022 data.

• Our police department also did a phenomenal job with self-initiated motor vehicle enforcement, which aims to increase traffic calming measures to reduce car accidents and the injuries and deaths that result. By the end of November, they completed 12,179 car stops, far exceeding last year's and previous years' enforcement. In 2025, the department plans to increase motor vehicle enforcement and self-initiated proactive direct patrols.

• To improve safety for Norwalk's bravest, we recently purchased an Attenuator Highway Blocking truck to keep firefighters safe on the highway while operating at motor vehicle accidents and fires. We are proud that Norwalk is the first fire department in the northeast to institute this safety measure.

Enhance Transparency

• In 2024, we also prioritized enhancing transparency and improving our services for residents with several notable improvements. Early in the year, we renovated and relocated our Customer Service window and office to the first floor, making it more convenient for visitors when they first enter City Hall.

• To help better connect and engage more residents with their local government, we recently upgraded our audio-visual system for Common Council and other public meetings, adding the option of subtitles in the language of their choice and improving the quality and reliability of live broadcasts and recordings for public access.

• To improve access to information online, we recently developed and deployed an online system for streamlining inspections, licenses, and fee tracking within our Health Department, improving both internal efficiency and public interaction with services. This initiative aims to reduce wait times, increase transparency, and provide more accessible services for residents.
• To help residents better navigate our city zoning code, we underwent a comprehensive rewrite of the code that went into effect in February. The previous code was outdated, hard to understand and, most importantly, not in line with modern best practices, as our zoning regulations hadn't had a comprehensive update in nearly forty years. Now, our code is modernized and residents can better navigate it. In 2025, our Planning and Zoning Commission will continue to host outreach events and public hearings to gather the community's input on areas of further improvement.

• To increase accountability, we also rolled out NextRequest, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Management System for the city of Norwalk that helps track and increase efficiency for the city's FOIA requests.

• We also began the work to enhance our 911 services to better accommodate a variety of different language users. In 2025, our Police Department will be onboarding the Prepared 911 system, which translates the contact information of the call in 38 languages and automatically transcribes the call for historical purposes.

• We are also proud to have implemented a new station alerting and emergency response software within our Fire Department, giving firefighters up-to-date information about hazards, water supply, and building construction while on scene.

Supporting Our Business Community and Enhancing Tourism

• Finally, in 2024, we continued to prioritize programs and events that supported our business community. We achieved record-breaking attendance at city-hosted Halloween and holiday events which were strategically located in our downtown business communities: South Norwalk and Wall Street.

• To further support our business community throughout 2024, we provided technical assistance, workshops, and resources to over 200 local businesses, empowering them to thrive in a competitive environment. We helped over 30 small businesses by securing funding for them through grants and other financial programs to help foster economic growth. In 2025, we plan to expand our small business support programs by launching additional initiatives to provide technical assistance and financial resources, with a particular focus on underserved communities and innovative startups. We plan to offer more workshops, mentorship programs, and access to alternative funding sources such as micro-loans and grants.