Select Board hears FY26 budget plan: $933,250 guideline target met amid staff reductions and reassignments

Town finance staff told the Select Board on March 24 that the FY26 general fund budget recommendation meets the finance committee guideline of a 2.85% increase and carries a net $933,250 increase over FY25.

The presentation described a level-service starting point reduced by about $600,000 to meet the guideline. Proposed personnel reductions total roughly $400,000, equal to a net decrease of about 4.74 FTEs; staff-level changes include elimination of a vacant position, voluntary reassignments and one planned layoff (listed as the director of sustainability, effective July 1, 2025). The town said the sustainability workload will be reassigned to the deputy town manager and a management analyst.

Department-level highlights included: an accounting increase to optimize the ERP system, no net headcount increase in the Police Department though union step increases and contract settlements increase personnel costs, and a consolidation of facilities management under Public Works. The budget assumes a 14.84% increase in group insurance costs and holds a salary reserve for unsettled collective-bargaining agreements. The presentation also said town and school education spending comprises about 59% of total spending when capital and debt service are included.

Officials told the board they will publish the detailed budget book before the public hearings and present the town budget at the finance committee hearing on April 15. Staff said some budget lines—recruiting costs, library state-minimum spending requirements and previously grant-funded senior services positions—were handled differently in FY26 than in prior years.