Chicopee council approves $276.3 million FY2026 municipal budget; tentatively OKs department budgets

CHICOPEE, Mass. The Chicopee City Council voted 10-0 on June 26 to approve the cityFY2026 municipal budget, a package with a grand total of $276,259,599.78, after a series of departmental budget hearings earlier in the evening and a special council session to finalize the measures.

The budget as read into the record by the city clerk allocates $131,601,452 to Chicopee Public Schools, $33,301,265.25 to public safety, $12,216,873.54 to public works, and $25,785,586.91 to public-works enterprise funds. The council also approved line-item reductions and transfers; the amount to be raised by the tax levy was listed as $242,805,670.87.

Nut graf: The vote completes the city'FY2026 budget process and makes funds available for schools, public safety and capital, but several departments were only tentatively approved during the earlier hearings pending final reconciliation and paperwork. The council also heard public commenters urge greater transparency and stronger risk-management steps to…