Town proposes partial FY26 restorations, leveraging WRTA mobility management reimbursements and a new revolving account

Town staff presented a plan to restore a set of previously reduced personnel hours in FY26 by using an offset created when the town moved its senior transportation program to the WRTA mobility‑management program. Under the mobility management arrangement the town will be reimbursed for driver salaries and vehicle maintenance, which staff said creates a recurring offset the town can use to restore selected positions without undoing the 1% overall reduction target.

The restorations proposed are: restore the Board of Health administrative assistant at 35 hours/week (previously 40), restore a Treasurer/Collector administrative assistant at 19 hours/week (previously 25), and restore planning department administrative support (re‑establish dedicated planning admin rather than split coverage). Staff noted a current vacancy that reduces immediate net cost and proposed restoring positions effective January 11 to limit fiscal impact in FY26. Staff also recommended creating a revolving account so reimbursements from the mobility program go to a dedicated account rather than general fund, enabling clear budgeting and operations.

Board members asked for periodic reporting on the WRTA arrangement’s performance and for clear materials explaining how the revolving account will operate; staff said the town will seek the revolving account article for the October town meeting and return with a concise set of metrics to measure the mobility management arrangement.