Medford finance director outlines fiscal 2026 revenue estimate, warns of rising costs and uncertainty

Finance Director Bob Dickinson presented a preliminary fiscal 2026 budget overview to a joint meeting of the Medford City Council and the Medford School Committee on March 19, saying the city currently has $28,343,997 in certified free cash and outlining revenue assumptions the administration will use for next year’s budget.

Dickinson said the city closed fiscal 2024 and certified free cash as of June 30, 2024, at $28,343,997, and that retained earnings in the Water and Sewer Enterprise fund totaled $12,653,475. "Free cash as of 06/30/2024 is $28,343,997," Dickinson said. He emphasized that prior-year balances reflected both planned uses of free cash and unexpected revenue: "We had $34,000,000 in free cash, roughly, but we used $14,000,000 of it to fund the stabilization funds," he said.

Why it matters: Dickinson framed the numbers as the baseline for upcoming budget hearings and cautioned that several large, variable factors could change the available revenue between now and final adoption — notably ARPA balances, investment income, state aid and health-insurance costs.

Key points from the presentation

- Sources and near-term assumptions: Dickinson said local receipts are estimated at $21,500,000 for fiscal 2026 and that the city’s current projection for net state aid (the…