Finance committee hears Quabbin assessment drop, approves reserve transfers and clears many warrant articles for town meeting

Town finance staff told the joint meeting that the Quabbin Regional School District assessment for Hubbardston’s FY26 allocation was approximately $159,000 lower than previously projected. In response, the town proposed a budget revision that reduces reliance on one‑time free‑cash offsets and reassigns revenue lines to produce the same overall operating total while preserving reserves for expected contingencies.

Finance committee actions: The finance committee approved multiple reserve‑fund transfers to cover known shortfalls and legal costs before fiscal year‑end. The transfers included:

- Police department: $18,537.73 to cover personnel/turnover and temporary staffing costs (chief indicated vacancies and injuries required part‑time coverage; the chief identified ~$47,000 total shortfall across lines, with the town covering part internally). - Williamsville Road legal and appraisal services: $7,546 to cover legal/deed work related to an accepted bridge/road grant and associated layout changes. - Historic building assessment (First Parish Meeting House): $725 to complete a condition assessment the town funded administratively. - Accounting services: $3,191 to cover interim accounting work; the town hired a new accountant and needs temporary contract support for year‑end closing.

The finance committee approved the reserve transfers as presented; committee members noted there may be additional year‑end transfers and that the town will present a fuller closing report at a future meeting.

Warrant article recommendations: The meeting reviewed and recommended a series of warrant articles for town meeting, including the operating budget, the Quabbin Regional assessment, Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School assessment, capital items (road program, IT support, fire pickup replacement), CPA requests (library basement rehabilitation and other allocations) and acceptance of a donated building (First Parish Meeting House). The committee discussed CPA funding limitations and noted the state’s changing cable/PEG revenue environment.

Capital and CPA notes: The town presented a capital request of $185,000 (combined sources) to fund a $100,000 annual road improvement program, $20,000 for IT infrastructure support, and a $65,000 fire pickup replacement. The committee recommended the capital article for town meeting. Separately, the Community Preservation Committee requests to fund library basement rehabilitation and other CPA‑eligible projects were recommended for town meeting review; committee members said long‑term grant opportunities may offset future local costs for historic preservation.

Next steps: Town staff will finalize the town meeting warrant, post the approved warrant articles and ballot language as required, and prepare a year‑end accounting report for the finance committee. Officials said they may return with additional reserve transfer requests to close the fiscal year.