Select Board lays out "doomsday" base budget and two override options amid warnings about reserves

The Southampton Select Board and town administration on March 31 presented a sharply reduced baseline "doomsday" budget for fiscal 2027 and described two possible voter override questions that would restore parts of the spending plan.

Town administration outlined a municipal base budget that reflects roughly $22 million in total revenue and noted the municipal (town operations) portion is about 22% of that total. The base budget would implement roughly $1.2 million in cuts across departments, including eliminating two part-time administrative assistant positions (fire and police), trimming highway maintenance and general highway costs, reducing EMS and health office supplies, cutting legal and IT budgets, and shrinking some town hall department hours and services. Officials also said they expect to draw down stabilization funds in the near term and to need a further budget adjustment in the summer or fall once health-insurance choices and state-aid figures are known.

Town administration presented two override options for voters: an approximately $1.9 million override and a larger $2.5 million override. Officials described the base budget as the "foundation" that town meeting must act on so the town can have a budget in place July 1, while the override questions would appear separately on the ballot for voter approval.

Select board members and finance committee representatives repeatedly warned that one-time uses of reserves are a short-term fix. A board member said using stabilization funds and other one-time revenues would only "kick the can down the road" and that failing the override could force cuts to public-safety staffing and services in the following year. The board discussed the town's unfunded pension liabilities and uncertainty about free cash and state aid as key risks to future budgets.

Officials said they will prepare consolidated, easier-to-read materials showing grouped cuts by department, run a public outreach campaign with short informational videos from department heads, and hold open meetings to answer residents' questions before town meeting and the May ballot. Town staff said open enrollment for health insurance and subsequent plan choices may shift projected costs and that a special town meeting could be necessary later in the summer if figures change.

The board did not take a final vote on the budget package at the March 31 meeting; it is expected to finalize warrant language and requested articles at a future meeting before town meeting.