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Council begins planning multiyear funding request for FY27 amid calls for emergency reserve
Summary
Council members discussed preparing a multiyear funding request for fiscal 2027 to preserve level funding and address inflation, and considered creating an emergency fund to respond to sudden needs across island service providers.
The Council for Human Services is preparing a multiyear funding request to the town manager and finance director to preserve level funding for fiscal year 2027 and to seek additional resources to respond to inflation and growing service needs, Chair Veronica Bolchic said June 26.
Bolchic told members the current human-services allocation “at $650,001.75” has been in place for at least five years and that the council is discussing a multiyear approach that would lay out projected requests for FY27, FY28 and FY29. She said she and staff member Jericho will draft a letter to the town manager and head of finance and that the council will review and adopt the letter at its next meeting for submission in July.
Council members emphasized the need for data from a pending needs assessment to strengthen the funding request. Sarah Wright noted the council is “catching up” on data and suggested adjusting the allocation for inflation; she estimated an inflation-adjusted starting point of about $770,000. Bolchic and other members said they anticipate asking for level funding for FY27 and possibly more for the first year while acknowledging the limits of the town’s overall budget.
Members also discussed creating an emergency fund to bridge gaps when expected outside funding does not materialize and to help organizations avoid immediate service interruptions. Tara Steering and other members recommended collecting data from prior grant applications about what programs would cut or how service levels would change if funding is reduced; they suggested the council should track how many clients would be affected and whether organizations have alternate funding sources.
The council noted that some opioid-settlement funds are changing source accounts (previously tied to cannabis sales revenue) and that finance staff have indicated those funds will nonetheless continue to be available in a different form. Bolchic said the multiyear letter will be ready for formal adoption at the next meeting, and that council leaders plan to present it to town administration in time for FY27 budget discussions.
