Town presents FY27 budget to school committee; community school's $225,000 request left for FinCom review

Town officials presented the proposed fiscal year 2027 operating and capital budget to the Nantucket School Committee on Jan. 20, laying out revenue projections, priority projects and the limits of current levy capacity.

Libby Gibson and Brian Turbot, who delivered the presentation to the committee, said the recommended operating budget seeks to keep spending within projected revenues and focuses on the select board's strategic priorities, including infrastructure maintenance. "Our major objective is to keep the recommended operating budget within projected revenue," Gibson said.

Turbot said the town's overall budget was presented as up roughly 5.48% compared with the prior submission and identified property tax as the largest revenue source, followed by room-and-meals excise and state aid. He stressed the town is projecting state aid at current levels pending the governor's budget release and cautioned that some revenue sources, notably short-term rental receipts, are volatile and could face legal challenges.

The presentation outlined a mix of funding for $2.9 million in recommended expense increases, including allocations from general revenues, revolving funds and free cash for one-time items. Turbot said part of the plan splits a proposed rental housing manager position with the Affordable Housing Trust and uses the short-term rental registration revolving fund to underwrite new building inspection responsibilities tied to short-term rental enforcement.

Committee members pressed presenters about a $225,000 request from the Nantucket Community School. The town's figures showed only about $136,796 in unused levy capacity at the time of the select-board presentation; Gibson said immediately recommending the full request would have put the budget into an "unbalanced" position. "In the end, if there aren't funds that can be worked around a little bit ... this money is going to have to come from somewhere," Gibson told the committee, urging continued discussion at the finance committee level.

Officials flagged other fiscal uncertainties that could affect the budget, including escalating construction costs for coastal resilience projects, potential PFAS remediation requirements, and citizen warrant articles that, if approved, could require debt exclusions. The presenters noted an offshore wind settlement fund would open to community claims on Jan. 26 and could become a future revenue source for eligible projects.

The next formal steps are a FinCom review and the statutory public process leading to Annual Town Meeting on May 4 and the town election on May 19.