The town took the next step in the budget process this week with presentations from department heads outlining their respective requests for fiscal year 2026, which runs from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, to the Select Board.
According to Town Administrator Patrice Garvin, the total for departmental requests pushes the town roughly half a million dollars over the allowed 2.5% increase over fiscal year 2025.
“So, we are going to have to start trimming,” she said.
Last year, Town Meeting members passed a $161.5 million budget with $66.9 million for schools, bolstered by the passage of an $8.4 million Proposition 2½ override.
For most departments, contractual costs, including salaries, are drivers in increased budgets. At the Department of Public Works, for example, Director Jay Marcotte said the town is in the final year of its contract for solid waste disposal. The new contract stipulates a 10% increase in the first year, followed by a 4% increase in the remaining four years.
“Talking to peers in the area, it’s right on par with what everyone else is being offered for their new contracts,” Marcotte said. “But that 10% is about a $60,000 increase to the solid waste line item.”
One possible avenue for savings, Garvin noted, would be revisiting the policy for bulk and electronic waste. Charging for electronics and bulk items, such as mattresses, could amount to a savings of $140,000 to $145,000, according to Marcotte.
Fire Chief David DeStefano, meanwhile, said that within his level-services budget, there are two line item costs that have increased more substantially than others: turnout gear and ambulance billing services.
A new state law requires any new gear and equipment purchased by the department to be free of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, “forever chemicals” commonly known as PFAS. The more expensive gear, he said, would constitute a roughly $9,000 increase over the current fiscal year.
Ambulance services are more difficult to forecast, according to DeStefano.
“We can go based on previous amounts we’ve spent,” DeStefano said. “We overspend that particular budget item because we’re doing more and more EMS calls.”
As for the Police Department budget, inflation is “catching up,” particularly with motor vehicle repair and purchases. Another large increase, Police Chief James MacIsaac said, reflects the creation of the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, a state law that requires the department to have money on hand in case the need arises for investigators outside the department to complete internal investigations on the use of force or bias.
Some department heads, such as Chief Innovation Officer Chris McClure and Town Planner Chris Ryan, included in their presentations the request for new staff positions. McClure’s request for a web and social media position would coincide with the launch of the town’s new website; Ryan’s request for a second building inspector would alleviate some of the pressure on the town’s current and only inspector.
“We used to have more than one building inspector, and our department, like many departments, have slowly eroded away the capacity,” Ryan said. “I think the position is needed, and I think the position could also go to assist with code enforcement.”
As for the library, Board of Trustees Chair Kathy Keohane said the library’s budget — a “transition budget,” given that the planned opening of the new main library is in autumn 2025 — includes a request for a second custodian. She noted this comes on the advice of Facilities Director David Blazon.
The Community Services Department — which encompasses the Recreation Department, Council on Aging and the Veterans Services following the recent reorganization — includes an overall increase in full-time equivalent positions.
“When I was on the Warrant Committee, I’d sit in on almost all the department head conversations,” said Select Board Vice Chair Matt Taylor. “We work with so many hard-working, inspiring people, and to set the tone of this budget season — despite the increasing expectations — has been really positive and collaborative, and people are just doing so much with what’s available.”
