The Town of Norwood Finance Committee voted Thursday to approve the town's FY26 budget book and recommended a slate of special‑town‑meeting articles, including creating a capital stabilization fund initially funded at $2,000,000.

The committee's action advances the budget document toward printing and the board of selectmen's final warrant process ahead of annual town meeting. The committee also recommended funding measures for schools, pensions and other reserve accounts and endorsed a transfer to cover a snow‑and‑ice deficit without asking town meeting for additional appropriation.

Committee chair opened the meeting and moved quickly to approve two sets of minutes from March 27 and an April 8 joint meeting with the board of selectmen; both sets were approved, the April 8 minutes carried with one abstention.

The committee then reviewed the FY26 budget book, approved it by voice vote and discussed the chair's introductory letter for the book. Committee members agreed the letter should be concise and focus on structural budget pressures; the group highlighted that, per the memo to selectmen, the tax levy is increasing by about $3,000,000 and fixed costs for pensions and health insurance similarly rose by roughly $3,000,000.

After approving the budget book, the committee considered the special‑town‑meeting articles and took recommendations on each. Highlights of the committee's recommendations:

- Snow and ice deficit transfer: The committee recommended the transfer to adjust line items addressing overtime and contract services; the committee noted the motion does not request additional appropriation from town meeting and voted unanimously to recommend it.

- Special Education Stabilization Fund: The committee recommended placing the school department's request on the warrant to reach the statutory maximum; the school request amount noted by committee staff was $880,959. The committee voted unanimously to recommend maximizing the stabilization fund as allowed by state law.

- School technology capital outlay: The committee recommended the school's spring capital outlay request of $70,000.

- Medicaid/MassHealth startup appropriation for schools: The committee recommended a free‑cash appropriation to seed a Medicaid billing program the schools expect will generate reimbursements to fund positions in future years; the staff discussion referenced a baseline reimbursement estimate ($350,000) and an illustrative cost of about $200,000 to fund three positions, but members stressed the revenue is uncertain and the arrangement will be revisited next year.

- General government and school integrated hiring system (Munis module): The committee recommended a one‑time free‑cash appropriation of $150,000 for an integrated hiring/onboarding module to improve efficiency.

- Water tank replacement/design (placeholder): Members discussed unexpectedly high bids for planned water tank replacements. The committee left this item as a placeholder while staff pursue State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan options and possible postponement; no recommendation or appropriation was finalized.

- Past and compensated absences reserve fund: The committee recommended a $250,000 appropriation to the reserve fund.

- Pension reserve fund: The committee recommended placing $1,000,000 on the warrant to seed the pension reserve fund.

- Capital stabilization fund: After discussion about the appropriate initial funding level and the need for policies to govern use, the committee moved to recommend establishing the capital stabilization fund and to initially fund it with $2,000,000 (replacing a previously discussed $5,000,000 worksheet figure). Members noted the board of selectmen still must decide whether to place the article on the warrant; the committee discussed alternatives, including collecting 100 citizen signatures to place an article on the warrant if selectmen decline.

The committee voted unanimously on each recommendation that required a vote, except where a recorded abstention occurred on the April 8 minutes. Members instructed staff to deliver a memo to the board of selectmen summarizing the committee's recommendations and to finalize the budget book print files once the warrant and signatures are confirmed.

Committee members emphasized that significant use of free cash this year makes restraint important going forward and urged concise language in the budget book letter to warn that using large amounts of free cash year after year is not sustainable. Members also noted the need for a working group or committee to develop parameters for the capital stabilization fund and to study alternatives to repeated free‑cash reliance.