Finance committee urged to engage earlier in FY26 budget after governor’s numbers arrive

Kathy Jarrett, of the finance team, told the Springfield City Finance Committee on Jan. 27 that the city will use the governor’s released budget numbers to build its FY26 proposal and urged City Council members to engage early in the mayor’s department budget hearings.

Jarrett said the governor’s release (issued Jan. 22) shows a 7.8% increase in Chapter 70 school funding and a 2.2% rise in unrestricted general government aid — about $1,000,000 — and that the city’s planning now proceeds from those figures. “We basically wait until the governor releases her budget, and she did release it on the 22nd,” Jarrett said. “As you can see, Chapter 70 went up 7.8%. So the school department again went up substantially.”

The recommendation matters because the mayor’s recommended budget will follow the department hearings and then be filed with the council in April; the council is expected to hold its budget hearings before voting to adopt a FY26 budget (anticipated in May). Jarrett told the committee that departments begin returning formal FY26 requests in February, the mayor holds department hearings in March, and the finance team is meeting departments monthly to identify recurring unspent balances.

Committee Chair Tim Sheehan said the purpose of the meeting was to begin the council’s work earlier than in past years and to encourage councilors to ask focused questions of departments with substantive increases. “Get involved once the mayor starts his budget hearings,” Jarrett said. “You have a right to meet with any city department.” She added finance staff are already analyzing three years of free cash and line-item trends to identify where departments routinely turn back money.

Councilor Victor Davila suggested soliciting community input during late February or early March and praised the increase in Chapter 70 funds. “We need to listen to the people that are directly affected,” Davila said, urging outreach and public hearings so residents can comment on tax and service tradeoffs.

Councilor Whitfield asked that hearings be scheduled with remote options and evening times to allow participation by councilors who work daytime jobs. “Is there a way that there could be Zoom links offered, like these meetings?” she asked; Jarrett responded that the mayor’s office controls scheduling and that she would request evening or remote options.

Other committee members and councilors asked for more granular materials — line-item worksheets rather than only a high-level presentation — and for earlier summary reports after finance’s meetings with departments so councilors who cannot attend can still review department requests. The chair said the finance committee will continue to use its regular meetings to track items and consider adding a public informational session on the budget.

Next steps: departments prepare FY26 requests in February; the mayor’s hearings are expected in March (dates not yet finalized); the mayor files a recommended budget in April and the council will hold its hearings before a May adoption vote. The Finance Committee’s next regular meeting was scheduled for Feb. 10.