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Winthrop council adopts FY27 municipal budget, approves small amendment
Summary
The Winthrop Town Council on June 15 adopted its FY27 municipal budget, approving a 3.5% merit bucket for non‑union staff and correcting an $8,000 line-item error in public works. The tax-levy impact was estimated at 3.34%; the operating budget rises about 1.72%.
The Winthrop Town Council voted June 15 to adopt Resolution 2026-2, approving the town's FY27 municipal budget as amended.
Town staff told the council the only change since the draft was a reduction of the nonunion merit-pay bucket from 4% to 3.5%, which represents roughly $4,000 in savings. Finance staff and councilors discussed line‑item questions on public works, cemetery staffing, vehicle maintenance and hot‑mix paving, and the council agreed to correct a suspected $8,000 office‑supplies typo in the public‑works budget before finalizing the document.
“The overall operating budget is up 1.72%,” said a member of staff during the presentation. Councilors also noted the tax levy impact, which staff said amounts to about 3.34% when school and county shares are included.
Councilors pressed for clarity on several program-level items. Questions included whether cemetery increases reflected internal transfers, how guardrail and striping purchases were budgeted, and how fire‑department transitional pay for training roles would be phased in. Chief Brooks explained that a deputy chief would gradually be assigned more hours to serve as a training officer in the coming years.
After discussion and a motion to adopt the resolution with the $8,000 correction and the 3.5% merit bucket, the council voted in favor of the budget. The motion carried among the members present.
The town manager and finance staff said the undesignated fund balance would briefly fall below the 20% policy threshold because of planned capital draws, but expected year‑end surpluses would replenish the reserve above policy levels.
