WESTBROOK — The City Council and School Board have set the schedules for the upcoming budget approval process.

The mayor’s fiscal year 2020 budget, which would cover July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020, is expected to be presented to the City Council at 7 p.m. Monday, March 18. It will then be refered to the Finance Committee, which will dissect the spending plan department by department.

The committee’s review begins Saturday, March 30, during a six-hour session. Economic Development and the Westbrook Environmental Corporation budgets will be discussed at 8:30 a.m.; Planning and Code Enforcement, 9 a.m.; Social Services,  9:30 a.m.; Community Services, Recreation and General Assistance, 10 a.m.;  Walker Memorial Library, 10:45 a.m.; Public Services, 11:15 a.m.; Dispatch and Information Technology, 12:30 p.m.; Police, 1 p.m.; and Fire, 1:45 p.m.

On Monday, April 8, the Finance Committee will review the budgets of Assessing at 6:30 p.m.; Public Transit,  7 p.m.; City Clerk and Elections, 7:30 p.m.; Human Resources, 8 p.m.; Finance,  8:30 p.m.; and mayor and legal/risk management at 9:15 p.m.

Superintendent Peter Lancia will present a State of the Schools address at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 13, in room 114 at the high school. The address has been presented in the past and Lancia is reviving it this year. It will cover the school department’s finances, enrollment numbers and programming vision. The presentation will again be offered at the City Council meeting Monday, Feb. 25. 

Like the City Council, the School Board will review each of the components of the school budget individually through its Finance Committee. The review of budget proposals from the elementary schools, English as a Second Language, special education, gifted and talented and Title 1 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, March 7. Review of the middle school, high school, Westbrook Regional Vocational Center, atheltics and activities, art and music spending will take place at 7 p.m.  Thursday, March 14. The following Thursday, March 21, technology, transportation, maintenance, Westbrook Performing Arts Center, nursing, human resources and district-wide budget proposals will be reviewed.

The School Board’s Finance Committee will take one last review Wednesday, March 27, at 6 p.m. before making its final recommendations to the full board.

The School Board will hold a public hearing and first reading on the school budget at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 3. The budget will get second reading a week on April 10 before being presented to the City Council the following evening.

The school budget will be reviewed at 7 p.m. at the City Council’s April 11 Finance Committee meeting.  From there, the city will begin its review of the school spending plan and roll it into its first reading of the city-wide budget on May 6. Second reading and adoption of the total fiscal year 2020 budget is set for Monday, May 13.

The school validation vote is set for Tuesday, June 11.