Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Worcester County commissioners approve amended 2026 budget increases for schools, staff and municipal grants
Summary
Commissioners amended the proposed 2026 budget May 28 to increase funding for the Board of Education and county staff, allocate one-time grants to towns, require quarterly sheriff overtime reports and direct surplus consideration toward OPEB; the meeting featured sharp debate over trade-offs among raises, tax changes and reserves.
Worcester County commissioners on May 28 amended the county's working 2026 budget to include increased funding for the Board of Education and county staff, one-time grants to towns and a directive for the sheriff's office to report quarterly on overtime usage.
The Board of Education's representative asked the commissioners to fully fund the negotiated package that would provide a 4% increase for certified/professional staff and a $2,000 increase for support staff and to continue work toward a $60,000 starting teacher salary by 2027. County staff had presented updated revenue and expenditure figures, including revenues of $286,812,695 and an estimated FY25 surplus of approximately $14 million. Commissioners debated how much of that surplus and the budget stabilization fund to commit to raises, grants and long-term liabilities.
In debate, supporters said the county can…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
