Schwab forms advisory panel for town budget

Other Committee 2026-10-08 Part 3 · Meeting of October 8, 2026

Bloomfield's town manager launched a new advisory Blue Ribbon Committee on Budget Development, seating six members including former council finance chairs Kenneth McCleary and Kevin Goff. Town Manager Al Schwab said the panel, which also includes Kevin LeDucer, Erin Behringer, Renee Bernasconi and former Mayor Sidney T. Shulman, is "advisory in nature and cannot direct" staff decisions.

Councilor Joe Merritt told the group the town's revaluation shifted roughly $20 million a year in tax burden from business to residential property owners. McCleary warned the committee "will not bear real fruit" unless the town tackles revaluation, OPEB costs and Board of Education spending early. Finance Director Donna Stewart will schedule department budget presentations, with at least one committee member sitting in on each session.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 1,706 words

Source: the Other Committee 2026-10-08 Part 3 meeting of October 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

Formation and Charge of the Blue Ribbon Committee

Town Manager Al Schwab convened the first meeting of what he called the Town Manager's Blue Ribbon Committee on Budget Development on October 8, describing it as a response to two budget seasons he said put Bloomfield "in the worst light" and left residents "frustrated... and scared." The committee exists because Schwab wants outside business and civic perspective folded into the town manager's proposed budget before it reaches the Town Council, rather than relying solely on department heads, as in past cycles.

The question before the room was not a vote but an introduction: who sits on the panel, why they were chosen, and how the process will run. Schwab read a mission statement he said will be posted on the town website: the committee "will assist the office of the town manager in developing the annual town manager's proposed budget for the town council," drawing on members' "collective training, experience, business acumen, and knowledge of Bloomfield." He stressed twice that the committee "is advisory in nature and cannot direct the actions of the town manager or staff."

Schwab framed the timing around the town's ongoing property revaluation, now in its third year of phase-in, which he said is driving budget increases regardless of department-level choices. "We all know that we are in the midst of a phase in for a reval that we're now going into the third year," he said, adding that managing those increases while remaining "fiscally responsible" will fall on his office.

Member Introductions and Backgrounds

Schwab introduced six panelists by order of seating, reading biographical summaries he said would also appear in full on the town's website.

Kenneth McCleary was introduced as a public finance leader with six years on the Bloomfield Town Council, including four years chairing the finance committee. Schwab said McCleary helped negotiate financing agreements supporting development and helped establish the town's housing trust fund. His academic credentials, per the introduction, include a master's in finance from Fairfield University (rendered in the audio as "fearful university") and a master's in public policy from Trinity College.

Kevin Goff was described as a retired actuary who spent 11 years as chief financial officer of the financial products division of MassMutual and holds the CFA designation. Goff served on a town commission referenced in the transcript only as "CEC" from 2012 to 2017, two terms on the Town Council from 2017 to 2021, and currently sits on the town's Planning and Zoning Commission.

Kevin LeDucer was introduced as general manager of a Bloomfield-based bearings manufacturer; the company name was rendered inconsistently in the audio, alternately as "Chematics" and, in LeDucer's own self-introduction, as "Commander's Corporation." He joined the firm in 2006 and holds a marketing degree from UMass Amherst.

Erin Behringer, a Bloomfield resident since 2018, was introduced as president of the Kenmore Road Association board for the past six years and a frequent speaker during citizen statements at council and subcommittee meetings. Schwab said she brings more than 25 years of experience in the medical and pharmaceutical industry and holds a dual degree in political science and sociology from the University of Connecticut. She was alternately referred to in the audio as "Behringer" and "Barringer."

Renee Bernasconi, president and CEO of Seabury since 2019, was described as having 30 years of experience in nonprofit senior living, including work establishing Seabury at Home, which Schwab said was the first program of its kind in Connecticut and the fifth in the country, and guiding a $76 million repositioning project. She serves as treasurer of LeadingAge Connecticut and Rhode Island (rendered in the audio as "Leading Edge"). Her surname was alternately heard in the recording as "Bernasconi" and, once, as "Pernikami."

Former Mayor Sidney T. Shulman, who Schwab said served multiple terms as Bloomfield's mayor, participated by phone from what Schwab described as Manhattan, New York, joining in audio-only because of a video login problem.

Schwab said he met privately in two separate groups earlier in the week "to avoid any appearance of a quorum" before formally inviting members, and that each accepted "resoundingly."

Remote Participation and Member Remarks

Each panelist gave brief introductory remarks. Bernasconi said she hoped to "pair fiscal accountability and transparency with a strategy for economic growth." Behringer said she looked forward to "listening and learning" alongside departments and the community. LeDucer called it "a great opportunity... to learn more about the town." Goff said Bloomfield has "not made capital investments with its own money for four or five years," attributing the observation to the finance director, and said that is "a major problem for any town" because it means infrastructure is not being funded.

McCleary, drawing on eight years on the council including four as finance chair, said the panel's work "would not bear real fruit" unless three issues are addressed early: the revaluation, rising OPEB and health care costs, and the Board of Education budget. "This is not an attack on the Board of Education, but they are a significant driver of this budget," he said, citing rising special-education transportation costs as an example of why school officials need to be at the table early rather than after other budgets are set.

Shulman, speaking by phone, said the town's options are limited to three mechanisms: growing taxable value, cutting spending, or raising revenue through means the federal government restricts to it. He noted he had just received his copy of the proposed budget the previous night and said the committee's role is to offer "recommendations or observations," with final decisions remaining with the manager and council.

The Deliberation on Taxes and Schools

The meeting's most substantive exchange came after member introductions, when Councilor Joe Merritt, attending along with Deputy Mayor Cindy Lloyd, addressed the town's 2024 property revaluation. Merritt said the shift moved roughly $20 million a year in tax burden from business to residential property owners, reversing a longstanding pattern in which business covered a majority share of the town's taxes. "Residents, our voters, are taking over the tax burden, and that's the problem," he said, calling it "very unusual" for a town's tax base to be as business-reliant as Bloomfield's had been.

Schwab responded by contrasting Bloomfield with Simsbury, where he said roughly 70 percent of the tax base comes from residential property, arguing that school quality, not tax rate alone, drives property values and community desirability. "You can't put a price tag on America's most precious resource, which is our children," Schwab said, adding that he intentionally avoided cutting the school budget the prior year without a "robust discussion with the superintendent."

He went on to argue that residents must choose between lower services and lower taxes or sustained investment: "Services cost money, and if we want to reduce taxes, then that's fine. Tell me what services you're willing to do without." He cited a prior council-floor suggestion to cut an assistant IT director position as an example of a near-miss, saying the town instead won recognition for its cybersecurity program.

Procedural Steps and Process Going Forward

No votes were taken. Schwab outlined the process ahead: Finance Director Donna Stewart, newly appointed and present at the meeting, will build a schedule for each department to present its proposed budget to Schwab. Department heads have already been instructed to review their budgets "with a fine-tooth comb" for efficiencies. At least one Blue Ribbon Committee member will sit in on each department session, though Schwab said those meetings are part of "normal course of business" and are not open public meetings.

Schwab said he anticipates the current session as the first of up to three total committee meetings, with a second expected after an initial budget draft is shared with Deputy Mayor Lloyd and the finance committee for feedback, and a third expected once a final package is assembled for the council. He separately said he plans a "virtual open house" to recruit resident volunteers as department "ambassadors" who could advocate for less prominent departments, such as human resources, the town clerk's office, or IT, when the budget reaches the council.

Implications and What Is Next

The committee's recommendations carry no binding authority; Schwab and Shulman both stressed that final budget decisions rest with the town manager and Town Council. The next concrete step is the department-by-department budget review process with Stewart's office, followed by what Schwab described as one or two additional committee meetings open to the public, the first expected after Deputy Mayor Lloyd and the finance committee see an initial draft. No specific dates were given for those sessions.

Kenneth McCleary, committee member, former Town Council member and finance committee chair Kevin Goff, committee member, former Town Council member, current Planning and Zoning Commission member Kevin LeDucer, committee member, general manager of a Bloomfield-based manufacturing company Erin Behringer, committee member, president, Kenmore Road Association Renee Bernasconi, committee member, president and CEO, Seabury Sidney T. Shulman, committee member and former Bloomfield mayor, participating by phone Al Schwab, Town Manager, convened and chaired the meeting Donna Stewart, Finance Director, spoke briefly on the budget process Cindy Lloyd, Deputy Mayor, attended, did not speak at the mic Joe Merritt, Town Councilor, spoke on the revaluation's tax impact

Seabury — nonprofit senior living organization led by committee member Renee Bernasconi, cited as context for her budget and governance experience LeadingAge Connecticut and Rhode Island — nonprofit association where Bernasconi serves as treasurer MassMutual — former employer of committee member Kevin Goff, cited in his biography Kenmore Road Association — neighborhood association where Erin Behringer serves as board president, cited as the basis of her prior advocacy before the town Town of Bloomfield property revaluation (2024, third year of phase-in) — cited repeatedly by Schwab and Councilor Merritt as the driver of the current tax-burden shift from business to residential property Town Council finance committee — cited by Schwab as the body expected to receive and review an initial committee budget draft before a second public committee meeting Board of Education budget — cited by Kenneth McCleary as a major cost driver requiring early coordination with the town manager's budget process