The Finance Committee on Feb. 5 reviewed the Community Preservation Committee(CPC) administration budget for fiscal 2026, which the CPC staff said remains unchanged at $82,000.

The sum includes roughly $30,300 for staff support, which the CPC identified as largely covering administrative work by Lauren (CPC staff/support); the administration proposal also carries a $40,000 line for professional and technical consultant services and smaller amounts for postage, legal notices and annual Community Preservation Coalition fees.

The consultant allocation is intended to cover technical work on complex projects that exceed the CPCcommitteestaffexpertise, officials said. The CPC spent about $20,000 of a $40,000 consultant appropriation last year, and the committee explained the full $40,000 remains in this year's request to ensure capacity if multiple complex housing applications arrive.

Committee members asked how many applications the CPC expected to present for funding recommendations; staff said there are seven pending submissions, although one remains under eligibility review with town counsel and the number could fall to six depending on that outcome. The CPC staff noted only one pending application is eligible for historic-resources funding; the remainder would compete for the community housing and general reserve buckets.

Staff also reviewed account balances the CPC expects available for awards: an estimated community housing reserve of about $876,000 and a general reserve reported at a little over $1.2 million for next-year receipts, plus a $106,000 historic-resources reserve and about $2.8 million in open-space reserves that are restricted to open-space projects. Staff warned these balances and the eligibility of projects will drive competition among requests this year.

Committee members pressed whether consultant fees are justified if available reserves cannot cover large projects; CPC staff answered consultants help determine eligibility and feasibility so the CPC can advise the town and Town Meeting whether to fund or not.

The CPC staff said the committee expects to return to the Finance Committee on March 5 with project-specific recommendations based on how the town-counsel eligibility question is resolved.

Ending: The Finance Committee did not take a formal vote on the CPC administration budget at the Feb. 5 meeting; CPC staff will return with project recommendations at the March 5 meeting and the committee will weigh funding competition once eligibility questions are resolved.