Mayor proposes $145.3 million FY2026 budget; council and residents press for higher school funding

Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra on Wednesday submitted a proposed $145,301,999 Fiscal Year 2026 budget for Northampton that the administration said balances continued increases for schools with a cautious approach to reserves and uncertain state and federal aid.

The budget, Sciarra said, includes a $129,543,130 general-fund operating budget and four enterprise funds for water ($6,945,000), sewer ($6,177,500), solid waste ($639,883) and stormwater and flood control ($1,996,486), representing an overall 4.8% increase from FY2025.

The mayor framed the proposal as a deliberate use of Northampton’s fiscal stability plan — a combination of periodic voter-approved overrides, conservative revenue estimates and reserve funds — intended to protect services during economic uncertainty. "This budget delivers on that vision and it reflects Northampton's shared values: equity, resilience and responsibility," Sciarra told the council as she read her budget message.

Why this matters: Education is the largest part of the city’s spending and dominated public comment. The proposed direct general-fund contribution to Northampton Public Schools (NPS) in FY2026 is $43,894,984, up $2,440,000 from FY2025 (a 6.3% city base increase). The administration said additional one-time and non-general-fund items raise NPS’s total requested amount to figures that exceed the city's new revenue without a larger override.

Key facts and context - The mayor’s proposed budget uses $1,403,757 from the Fiscal Stability Stabilization Fund to balance FY2026. - The administration says the city’s direct contribution to NPS has increased by about $10.4 million (31%) from FY2022 through FY2026. - The mayor is also proposing a replenishment of the Special Education Stabilization Fund up to the 2% statutory cap under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40, Section 13E; the council was later asked to appropriate $294,508 from free cash for that purpose. - The budget assumes higher-than-average local receipts in several categories (motor vehicle excise, hotel/motel excise, parking receipts and investment income), a strategic choice the administration acknowledged is a risk in a volatile national economy.

Public comment and council questions Residents, educators and students used the public-comment period to urge larger, recurring increases for the schools. Teacher Beth Adams, a 25-year math teacher at Northampton High School, said losing the high school’s tech integrationist will harm classrooms and special-education accommodations and described the position as "penny wise and pound foolish." Student Amelia Durbin, co-chair of the Northampton Youth Commission, urged more state-level advocacy and described local action as part of a broader push for school funding.

Other commenters — including Tina Engman and Meg Robbins — expressed support for the mayor’s adherence to the fiscal-stability plan on the grounds that it helps avoid boom-and-bust cycles. Several speakers, including Tom Riddell and Colin Hoffmeister, criticized the stability plan and urged structural changes to the way schools are funded.

Councilors used the session to identify follow-up questions for department heads in upcoming budget hearings: Councilor Rachel Maori asked whether the Division of Community Care (DCC) plan depends on a state Equitable Approaches to Public Safety (EAPS) grant; Councilor Stan Moulton inquired about the eight firefighter positions the mayor proposed adding and the FEMA grant that could fund them; Councilor Alex Jarrett asked for clarification on student-to-teacher ratios and class sizes using Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) definitions.

Administration response and next steps The mayor and Finance Director Charlene Nardi (named in the budget book) told the council the administration will provide detailed answers during the scheduled public hearings for the Committee on Finance on May 27 and June 4 at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers and virtually. The administration acknowledged the risks from potential federal grant cuts — particularly Medicaid and public-health grant funding — and said the replenishment of the Special Education Stabilization Fund is intended to provide a buffer if federal reimbursements are reduced.

Decision points and outstanding issues Discussion only: The council placed the FY2026 general-fund budget on the floor for discussion and divided one portion of the budget for separate consideration because of a recusal; no final vote on the full budget occurred at this meeting.

Forward-looking: The finance committee will hold public hearings May 27 and June 4; the council will consider motions and votes after those hearings. Council members requested supplemental information on class sizes (DESE definitions), projected impacts to non-school departments under different funding scenarios, the status of grant-funded positions in Division of Community Care, and the administration’s conservative/local receipts assumptions.

Ending: The mayor said the FY2026 budget is the final budget of her first term and repeated calls for collaboration among the city, school committee and state delegation as the council proceeds to hearings and votes.