The Select Board on March 19 unanimously approved a full slate of fiscal year 2027 departmental budgets after more than three hours of hearings, as officials worked to close a $7.7 million deficit through a mix of cuts, restructuring and proposed new revenue.
Members repeatedly emphasized that the budget is built on two key assumptions: the implementation of trash fees expected to generate roughly $2 million in new revenues and an additional $1.5 million in cuts to the school budget.
Even with those measures, the town still faces roughly $3.3 million in remaining deficit on the municipal side.
Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer said the goal was to spread cuts broadly rather than eliminate entire services, as outlined in Scenario A, which would lay off roughly 30% of the town’s municipal workforce.
“We’ve two paths to balance the budget,” he said. “One is nibbling on all the edges that we can find … or we shut down a whole function in order to fund the level.”
Public safety prioritized, but staffing concerns persist
As the board reviewed departmental budgets, Kezer signaled a clear priority on public safety.
“Protection of life and property is one of the most critical things we do as government,” he said. “So, in some areas, you’re going to see growth in numbers because we’ve got to meet obligations and sustain, and in others we have to make choices.”
Fire Chief Jason Gilliland described mounting strain on staffing levels, citing injuries, military leave and vacancies.
“I’m ordering people into 96-hour shifts,” he said. “It’s a safety thing; it’s a morale thing.”
Gilliland added that the department is effectively “down a full shift,” with six members out due to injury and two on military leave.
“Overtime is nice, but too much is too much,” he said. “They’d rather not work it anymore… It’s to the point where I have to order [overtime], which is never a good thing.”
Discussion focused on whether to eliminate a vacant position or keep it funded to allow hiring later in the year and reduce overtime, with Chair Dan Fox warning that cutting it outright could worsen burnout and costs.
Police Chief Dennis King echoed similar concerns, warning that proposed staffing reductions would further strain an already lean department.
“Going to 30 for us as a sworn police department gets right at the minimum manning discussion that many police departments have,” he said.
King said current staffing already leaves little room beyond emergency response.
“The average [shift] is three officers and a supervisor to cover 4 square miles, 20-plus-thousand people and visitors alike,” he said. “That is a car accident and a domestic. That’s that — then the shift is [fully occupied].”
King said the department handles more than 20,000 calls annually, leaving little room to sustain additional priorities like traffic enforcement or community engagement.
Proposed reductions could also shift personnel out of specialized roles, including the school resource officer, a role King described as “really priceless.”
“Every officer outside of my detective… will have to be in patrol,” he said.
Community development: cuts threaten grants, projects
Beyond public safety, the Community Development and Planning Department drew some of the strongest reaction from board members.
The proposed budget would eliminate two positions, including Director Brendan Callahan’s role, reducing the office to a two-person operation.
Callahan acknowledged the unusual position he was in.
“Presenting a budget that doesn’t include me in it is a little disconcerting,” he said.
Callahan said the department is currently overseeing 35 active projects with an estimated $50 million in construction costs and has secured $1.9 million in grant funding since its creation two years ago.
“Even when combining the department’s FY25 and FY26 budgets associated with department salaries, the town still had a net gain of $1.1 million,” he said.
Under the proposal, only a town planner position — currently unfilled — and a clerk would remain.
Callahan warned the town could lose future grant opportunities and delay major projects.
“The town would likely forfeit these opportunities, as there would be insufficient capacity to administer and manage the grant-funded projects effectively,” he said.
Member Jim Zisson warned the proposal could leave the town with an unsustainable structure.
“It’s a formula for a disaster,” he said.
Finance Department: restructuring and technology investments
In the Finance Department, Director Aleesha Benjamin described a budget focused on restructuring roles and investing in systems to strengthen oversight and transparency.
She said it also reflects increased technology costs as the town transitions to new financial systems, requiring the town to temporarily operate both old and new platforms at the same time.
“We’re really utilizing technology,” she said, pointing to new tools that allow residents to track revenues and expenses in real time.
Benjamin emphasized that the finance team plays a central but often unseen role in town operations.
“It’s a lot of people wearing several hats,” she said.
Day-to-day services face visible impacts
Other departments pointed to more immediate, visible effects on town services.
Director of Public Works Amy McHugh described a steady decline in staffing, from 23 employees in 2020 to a proposed 19, with additional reductions to a laborer and part-time clerk.
“If you cut one person … that’s six or seven streets or full neighborhoods that don’t get plowed,” McHugh said.
She said the cuts will likely slow routine work, such as street maintenance, tree trimming, signage and sidewalk repairs, while stormwater projects are increasingly limited to regulatory requirements.
“We have a large list of projects that need to be done that are going to just sit on the back burner,” she said.
At the Council on Aging, Executive Director Lisa Hooper described a similar gap between demand and staffing. The department’s staffing has declined from 15.5 positions to a proposed 10 over the past decade in a town with more than 6,000 residents over age 60.
“The Council on Aging budget has declined 36% in the last 11 years,” she said.
Despite the reductions, the department provided more than 6,100 rides for medical appointments last year.
The position targeted for elimination plays multiple roles, including nutrition services, facility maintenance and backup transportation.
Hooper said that while many programs are supported through grants and private funding, eliminating the position would have operational and safety impacts inside the facility, which serves hundreds of residents daily.
“This position would be a big hit to us,” she said. “It’s another set of hands that has gone.”
Facilities and structural challenges
Operational concerns also surfaced in the Public Buildings and inspection budgets.
Proposed custodial cuts raised questions about how town facilities would be cleaned, maintained and secured, with officials noting the town may need to rely on contracted services or reserves.
“If we’re not taking care of our buildings, they cost the town more,” Fox said, adding that reduced staffing would mean “less maintenance, less upkeep… and it’s going to cost us more in the long run.”
Officials also highlighted the ongoing reliance on inspectors to handle maintenance work.
“The fact that our inspectors are also our maintenance team; I call that part of the structural deficit because we need our inspectors out inspecting … and we need a maintenance team to maintain our buildings,” Kezer said. “We need to bifurcate those roles.”
Other town departments
Other departments — including Human Resources, Animal Inspector, Veterans’ Services, Sealer of Weights and Measures, and Harbors and Waters — saw fewer changes, with budgets largely unchanged or adjusted modestly based on projected costs.
Budget process continues
By the end of the afternoon, the board had stitched together a budget totaling nearly $57 million that largely preserves core services but leaves nearly every department operating with less room to maneuver
Officials said the final budget will be presented to Town Meeting following further review, including Finance Committee deliberations, and repeatedly emphasized that many of the current decisions remain contingent on whether voters approve an override or new revenue measures like the proposed trash fee.
“A likely scenario, we would include these [personnel cuts] in an override scenario,” Kezer said.
“We have to get to a zero-balance budget today.”
