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Acton town manager outlines FY26 priorities; compensation reserve set aside for three pending union contracts
Summary
Town Manager John presented the town manager's office budget, highlighted pension funding and collection rates, and explained a compensation reserve set aside for negotiations with two police units and the fire union whose contracts expire June 30.
Town Manager John presented the Town Manager's Office portion of the FY26 proposed budget and answered questions from the Select Board and Finance Committee during the second night of budget workshops.
John said the town's unfunded pension liability was about $53,000,000 and that the retirement system was 42% funded as of the January 1, 2024 valuation; he added that while Acton maintains a local system, most assets are pooled with the state’s investments. He reported the town’s property tax collection rate remains high at roughly 99.5–99.6 percent.
The town manager highlighted a compensation reserve line in the FY26 draft budget kept principally to cover collective bargaining settlements. He told the board the reserve is sized to pay anticipated settlements for three bargaining units whose contracts expire June 30: two police unions (patrol and superior officers) and the fire union.
John described other town manager office line items in the FY26 submission: the professional services budget (reduced modestly in light of frequent grant funding for one‑off projects), a cultural council allocation, a modest town meeting budget, and a small Commission on Disabilities discretionary fund. He noted current vacancies in the economic development director and a technician/specialist position, and that the office also houses sustainability and the DEI office.
Select Board members asked how the compensation reserve was reflected in department spending. John explained that when collective bargaining increases are settled after a fiscal year starts, departments reflect those salary costs in their actuals and the comp reserve lines in the prior year can appear unused in the ledger. He said the FY24 comp reserve was allocated to departments at the start of the fiscal year to cover cost‑of‑living adjustments and was then reflected inside departmental salary spending when settlements were reached.
No formal budget votes were taken during this presentation; the Select Board and Finance Committee continued review and Q&A.
Ending: The board moved on to departmental presentations after the town manager’s overview, and the FY26 compensation reserve and union negotiations were left as an open item to monitor while the budget process continues.
