Waltham City Council approves FY2026 municipal and school budgets, parking appropriation and revolving accounts

The Waltham City Council on Monday approved its fiscal year 2026 municipal budget of $254,155,373 and the school department budget of $123,336,745, authorized a $545,069 appropriation from the parking meter account and approved revolving accounts for several departments.

Councilor Anthony LaFosse, chair of the finance committee, opened the special meeting and said the council’s finance panel and other members spent two days — May 28 and June 4 — reviewing 30 department budgets before making its recommendations to the full council. “The total city budget is $378,037,187,” LaFosse said during the meeting. “We’re going to actually be taking 4 different votes tonight.”

The motions carried by roll call. The municipal budget motion, moved by LaFosse, passed with 11 votes in favor. The council then approved the school budget, also moved by LaFosse, by the same roll-call margin. The council voted to appropriate $545,069 from the parking meter account and separately approved revolving accounts for the city clerk, Council on Aging, planning and recreation departments under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 44 §53E½; both measures carried on unanimous roll-call votes of the members present.

Councilor Colleen Bradley McArthur, who took part in the budget hearings, praised the school department presentations and the new leadership. “It’s 2025, and we have a new superintendent. We also have a fully functioning state of the art high school with an envy enviable CTE program and facilities,” Bradley McArthur said, adding that her questions focused on newly requested positions and the justifications provided by the superintendent.

LaFosse thanked city finance staff and auditors for their work preparing the budgets, naming Auditor Paul Cintefanti, Assistant City Auditor Laura Doan, senior accountant Heather Hurley and accountant Patrick Hogan for their support. He also thanked the city clerk’s office staff for behind-the-scenes assistance.

The special meeting record shows the finance committee recommended the four items after its hearings; the council recorded the approvals by roll call and then adjourned. There were no further matters on the agenda.

The approvals set spending authorizations for fiscal year 2026 and release funds from the parking meter account and revolving accounts as permitted by state law. The council did not specify additional implementation steps or timelines during the session; any departmental spending and accounting will follow city procedures and statutory reporting requirements.