Finance Committee asks manager, school committee to show 1% reduction to general fund budget

The Finance Committee voted Feb. 10 to ask the town manager and the school committee to present revised FY26 spending plans demonstrating what a 1% reduction to the general fund would look like, exclusive of debt service. The motion — framed as an analytical exercise rather than a directive to cut jobs — passed after debate about scope, timing and potential impacts on staff morale.

Committee members said they wanted the exercise to be concrete enough to inform decisions: "If we see what 1% looks like, if there are spot concerns that come up, we're better informed," said one member during deliberations. Members discussed that a 1% reduction would equate to roughly $1.3 million on an approximately $130 million budget and emphasized excluding debt service from the calculation to focus on operating choices.

Staff clarified that several union contracts are under negotiation and could change budget assumptions; the committee directed that the 1% figure be applied to the existing presented budget assumptions so the exercise would be grounded in current numbers. Members also asked that presentations avoid naming individual employees and, where possible, present positions or line-item changes in aggregate to reduce anxiety among staff.

The committee framed the request as a tool to identify efficiencies and "lower-hanging" options rather than an instruction to terminate positions immediately. The committee will review the revised budgets when they are presented before making any formal cuts or warrant recommendations.

Next steps: the committee expects the town manager and school committee to deliver a revised version of the budget for committee review prior to the next scheduled meetings and before finalizing recommendations for town meeting.