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Cheverly council narrows FY27 spending, debates 5¢ tax increase and fee changes
Summary
Council reduced several line items in a proposed $11.59 million spending plan, discussed shifting costs for services such as a curbside food‑scrap pilot onto participants, and debated publishing budget scenarios showing 0¢–5¢ tax increases ahead of a first reading next week.
The Cheverly Town Council on May 6 finalized a set of expenditure adjustments for a proposed FY27 budget and opened a contentious debate over how much of the shortfall to cover with higher taxes versus fees and fund‑balance use. Mayor (speaker 1) said the published packet next week will include the current spending total (about $11,591,000) and scenario figures showing the revenue impact of different tax increases.
Town Administrator John Galloway (Mr. Galloway, speaker 2) reviewed the spending reductions the administration and department heads had already made and recommended modest fee changes and a 5¢ increase in the real‑estate tax rate — from 0.5799 to 0.6299 per $100 of assessed value — as the scenario that balances the budget. He also proposed raising the personal‑property tax rate from 1.1 to 1.45 and setting the multifamily rate to 1.03; finance staff indicated the personal‑property change would raise an estimated $175,000.
Councilmembers pressed staff for more precise non‑tax revenue estimates and a draft fee schedule before a final vote. Vice Mayor (speaker 4) said the council should publish a single recommended rate for the public packet while also providing a document that presents multiple scenarios (0¢, 2.5¢, 3¢/4¢, 5¢) so residents can see tradeoffs. "It is unfair to all the people who came here tonight to not go on record to say this is what we think the tax rate should be," the Vice Mayor said.
Several residents urged delay. Public commenters including Leila Riazi (speaker 11) and Anna Clay (speaker 14) asked council not to vote on a tax increase until updated actuals and the recommended fee schedule are available. "Don't go and make a decision tonight when you haven't seen the revenue and you haven't had any conversation about the extent that you're willing to dip into the fund balance," Riazi said.
Council agreed to publish the packet for next week’s meeting with the $11.59 million spending total plus a public‑facing scenario document showing revenue at different tax steps. Staff committed to include more recent actuals (March/April) and to try to provide estimated fee‑schedule changes for the first reader; the council also agreed that the introduced rate may be adjusted on second reader.
What happens next: the administration will publish the budget packet with scenario numbers for the council and public to review; council members indicated they may bring additional expenditure‑cutting ideas to an upcoming session before the formal adoption vote scheduled later in the budget calendar.
