Town Manager Libby Gibson and municipal finance staff presented an overview of the Town of Nantucket's fiscal 2026 budget to the school committee, laying out projections, major cost pressures and next steps toward town meeting.

Gibson said the budget packet and a detailed budget message are available on the town website and described the town's objectives: keep the recommended operating budget within projected revenue and address strategic priorities including housing and infrastructure. She noted public hearings and key dates: a public hearing the following day, FINCOM review between mid-January and mid-March, town meeting on May 3 and the election on May 20.

Brian Turbot, the town's finance director, presented revenue and expense figures, saying projected revenue is $161,672,000 (net of property-tax abatements) and the recommended expense budget is $161,444,000, leaving a relatively small unused levy capacity (about $227,000). Turbot outlined major expense categories that will drive the budget: town salaries, school salaries, health insurance costs, debt-service increases tied to permanent borrowings, enterprise fund subsidies and reserve needs. He said the town included roughly $1.795 million in expense-increase requests and proposed funding most of that through general fund and other revenues, free cash, revolving funds, and county funding.

Presenters warned of several notable uncertainties. They said state aid remains unfinalized and therefore projected as level-funded; short-term rental (rooms-and-meals) revenue has been variable since expansion in 2019 and should be used conservatively; construction and contractor costs have escalated; and the coastal-resiliency plan contains more than $400 million in projects over roughly 30 years, requiring prioritization and alternative funding strategies. Gibson added that PFAS-related needs and one well that will require treatment represent ongoing, potentially significant costs and that the town has invested "over $13,000,000 or so" already in PFAS-related work.

Gibson and Turbot said they will provide draft policy language on competency determination to the policy subcommittee, continue to analyze claims data for health-insurance projections, and work with departments on capital planning and staffing gaps. The town managers emphasized caution in relying on short-term-rental revenue for ongoing expenses and noted an intent to fill several project-management and housing-related positions to handle increased workload.

The presentation concluded with an invitation to the public hearing and the schedule for FINCOM review and town meeting, and officials said they will provide the committee with policy drafts as they are developed.