At its May 1 meeting the Town of Norwood Finance Commission set its positions for the upcoming special and annual town meetings, recommending funding and policy articles that will appear on the pink sheet.

Special-education stabilization: The commission voted to make the motion at town meeting for a full allocation of $880,959 to the special-education stabilization fund, the amount the commission previously approved. Commission members said the number brings that account to the statutory limit established by the state and cited past volatility in special-education costs—noting net special-education costs rose by about $70,000 this year but have increased by more than $1 million in some recent years. The Board of Selectmen had recommended reducing the appropriation to $300,000; the commission said it will present the full amount and noted the selectmen plan to offer an amendment at town meeting if they wish.

Capital stabilization fund: The commission discussed a proposed article to create a special capital stabilization fund (capital stabilization) that the Board of Selectmen voted to include. Commissioners said the article would establish the fund now but that any funding would be considered at a future (fall) town meeting. The commission recommended the creation of the fund and said it would work with the selectmen and capital outlay policy to clarify what counts as a capital item before funding it.

Tangent Development pilot agreement: The commission voted to support Article 2, a pilot payment agreement with Tangent Development LLC. The proposed pilot term cited in the yellow sheet totals $481,008 over 25 years. The commission recorded support and recommended that the pink-sheet letter note the commission’s endorsement.

HERO Act articles (veterans exemptions): Commissioners recommended Articles 3 and 4, which would adopt exemptions from property taxes tied to the HERO Act; the commission noted the articles do not require new appropriations but could modestly reduce local property-tax revenue and be offset by the overlay account. One commissioner abstained from the vote, a point the commission recorded; the motion nonetheless passed with a recommendation to vote in favor at town meeting.

Contracts and housekeeping items: The commission recommended allowing contracts up to five years (rather than a strict three-year limit) to give the town flexibility for software and other subscription services; that recommendation passed unanimously. The commission also supported accepting direct deposit (described as a housekeeping item) and said it would flag any articles where the commission’s number and the selectmen’s yellow sheet differ in the pink-sheet letter.

Votes at a glance: the commission recorded the following recommendations to appear at town meeting: the special-education allocation (recommend $880,959; commission motion to present full amount), Tangent pilot (support; $481,008 over 25 years), HERO Act Articles 3 and 4 (support; 1 abstention on the recommendation), contracts up to five years (support), and creation of the capital stabilization fund (support; funding deferred to fall). The commission also noted an estimated post‑special‑town‑meeting free-cash balance of roughly $18,000,000 and a rough order-of-magnitude of $5,000,000 in anticipated capital requests in the fall (a preliminary estimate). The commission flagged a potential high-cost vehicle purchase (a ladder truck) for future discussion; members cited a prior ladder truck purchase at about $1,300,000 12–13 years ago and a current potential cost as high as $3,000,000.

Next steps: Commission staff will update the pink sheet and the pink-sheet letter to reflect the commission’s positions and to note when the commission’s recommendation differs from the selectmen’s yellow sheet.