Richmond council adopts FY26 budget after hours of public comment, approves staff additions and targeted reallocations

The Richmond Town Council voted to adopt the town’s fiscal year 2025–26 municipal budget after a public hearing that included extended public comment and several council amendments.

The council approved the budget with a set of reallocations intended to cover increased personnel costs and contract-related expenses without raising the town’s tax rate. The council also approved the exact ballot question language that will appear on the upcoming referendum: “Shall the Richmond municipal budget for fiscal year 2025–26 as adopted by the Richmond Town Council be approved?”

Why it matters: Councilors said the package balances the council’s pledge not to raise the mill rate while honoring wage adjustments, addressing police contract costs and setting aside funds for road repairs and other capital needs. Members of the public urged the council to preserve services for seniors and vulnerable residents while keeping spending under control.

Most important votes and amendments - The council approved a motion to reallocate existing budget lines so the town could fund post-employment benefits for the new police contract and the wage adjustments recommended by town administration. To do so the council moved $35,000 out of the legal/ litigation line, $43,500 from a municipal-resiliency capital line, and $50,000 from the wage contingency (total moved: $128,500). The council recorded the measure as approved by roll call. - The council also voted to move $3,500 from a Beaver River invasive-species capital item to increase Wood River Health’s annual subsidy and directed the remaining $7,500 from that line to road repairs. - The council approved the ballot question language for the fiscal referendum, using a concise form modeled after the regional school committee ballot language.

What councilors and the public said Lisonbee Croak, president and chief executive officer of Wood River Health, urged the council to increase the town subsidy, describing a recent case in which center clinicians performed life-saving emergency care for a child and argued that the health center serves a large portion of town residents. Croak asked the council to fund Wood River Health’s requested subsidy increase.

Councilors debated adding a contract grant writer, creating a community services director role (combining human services, recreation oversight and senior services functions), and staffing levels for summer programming. Councilors supporting the grant-writer contract described it as a trial contract to pursue grant revenue; other councilors expressed concern about cost and the town’s ability to provide matching funds for some grants.

Budget details and process notes Council members and staff emphasized the budget package was constrained by both departmental needs and the town’s policy goals. The administration provided line-by-line details of the “other” category and the capital improvement program (CIP) at council request. Councilors also discussed moving some CIP items (for example, a $10,000 Beaver River invasive-plant project) to grant-funded status and using the freed funds for roads or other priorities.

The council recorded the final adoption by roll call. The budget passed with the amendments described above; the council instructed staff to publish the amended budget and to include the ballot question on the referendum as approved.

Ending Councilors said they would continue to refine program descriptions, job descriptions and follow-up reporting on the new community services role and any contractor-based grant-writing engagement. The council also asked staff to make the “other” and CIP details publicly available for residents who want deeper line-item information.