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Maynard approves grouped budget articles, frees cash for capital projects and school restorations
Summary
Town meeting approved grouped Articles 4, 5 and 7, allocating free cash for capital repairs and equipment, adopting modest salary adjustments for nonunion staff and advancing the FY27 general‑fund budget; the schools presented a budget restoring two teaching positions and adding an athletic trainer.
Moderator Dick Downey presided as the town moved and voted on a cluster of budget items, approving a package that allocates one‑time free‑cash funds to a range of capital and operating needs and advances the town and school budgets for fiscal 2027.
David Gavin, chair of the Select Board, outlined Article 4’s free‑cash line items and said the article is meant to pay for one‑time capital items rather than ongoing operations. He listed allocations that include $25,000 to the town’s OPEB fund, a $10,276 allotment to the stabilization fund, replacement exterior doors at the Fowler School, $50,000 for high‑school interior lighting, upgrades to the town‑hall HVAC, funding to replace police cruisers, a replacement DPW F‑550 platform truck, funds for water‑system corrosion control and pump replacements, demolition of unsafe bleachers at Alumni Field and installation of an ADA‑compliant walkway, a $52,000 supplement for police body‑worn cameras not fully covered by a state grant, cemetery fence repairs, and seed funding for a new solid‑waste and recycling enterprise.
On Article 5, Gavin summarized adjustments to the town’s nonunion salary administration plan, describing modest increases in minimums and range maximums (roughly a 2% adjustment and a small hourly minimum increase) intended to keep nonunion positions competitive with entry‑level union pay.
Jeff Swanberg presented the general‑fund budget under Article 7, showing that education remains the largest spending category while employee benefits are the fastest‑growing line, driven in part by rising health‑care costs. Swanberg explained that the newly created solid‑waste enterprise fund shifts some public‑works expenses out of the general fund and that the select board is deferring a $67 million DPW facility project for now while signaling future water‑system work (new wells and treatment upgrades) that town meeting may consider later.
The superintendent of schools said the school committee recommended a FY27 school budget that restores a fifth‑grade teacher and a high‑school health/PE teacher and funds an athletic trainer position. The superintendent described using attrition and revolving accounts to cover an operational gap and emphasized that the additions meet contractual and state requirements.
During public questions, residents asked about the scope of the $50,000 lighting project, the cost and capabilities of the DPW F‑550 replacement, whether wood‑chipper pricing was reasonable, and the schedule for the athletic trainer; officials provided technical clarifications and said further details are available through department staff. Moderator Downey conducted votes for the grouped articles; the motions carried and vote tallies were announced later in the meeting.
The meeting moved on to other warrant business after approving the budget and allocation package.
