During what officials called a “Super Saturday” marathon meeting, the Finance Committee voted to approve all town and school budgets totaling $122.7 million, with at least 35-40 job cuts. The goal is to close the town’s $7.7 million deficit for fiscal 2027.
Select Board member Jim Zisson was the lone vote against the budget. Zisson said he visited several municipal buildings on March 27 to speak with employees whose jobs could be eliminated under the plan. He specifically objected to funding an unfilled clerk’s position in the Select Board’s office while cutting existing jobs.
“I would prefer to save one job and not fill an unfilled position,” Zisson said.
School cuts
The school district has reduced its FY26 level-services budget by $4 million to help close the deficit. Superintendent John Robidoux already announced more than 14 full-time layoffs, and that is before he and Assistant Superintendent Mike Pfifferling identify the final $1.5 million in reductions.
“Any further reductions in our school personnel will affect students, between classroom sizes, services that we’re able to provide, resources that are available, and safety and security start getting affected,” Robidoux told the Finance Committee. “And that’s not hyperbole.”
Library cuts
Facing a $700,000 budget cut from the town for fiscal year 2027, leaders at the Abbot Public Library said Saturday they may be able to keep the building open on a drastically reduced schedule — about 25 hours a week.
Director Kimberly Grad said it might make more sense to close the library at the end of November. She plans to discuss that option with the library’s board of directors.
Grad called the cut “the most significant threat to our institutional continuity” in the library’s nearly 150-year history.
The library will almost certainly lose its certification, meaning Marblehead residents will no longer be part of the North of Boston Library Exchange and would not be able to check out books at other North Shore libraries.
Override plans
Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer is expected to present a tiered override proposal for town departments on April 8.
The proposed tiers include:
Tier 1: Partial restore
- Restores a significant portion of cuts
- Includes town and school services
- Could be structured as a one- or three-year solution
Tier 2: Stabilize and build
Includes Tier 1 plus:
- Full restoration of cuts
- Building maintenance funding
- Public safety and Department of Public Works staffing
- Salary study adjustments
Tier 3: Invest and improve
Includes Tiers 1 and 2 plus:
- Small capital investments
- Equipment, infrastructure and buildings
- Focus on long-term improvement
Trash override
At Town Meeting, voters will face a second override request of about $2 million to fund curbside recycling and trash pickup.
If that override fails, the Board of Health will institute a fee for pickup. With a 3% opt-out rate, Health Director Andrew Petty projected the curbside fee at about $281 per household.
Override impact
Select Board member Moses Grader presented a budget analysis March 27 projecting that $4.6 million would be needed to restore the cuts on the town side of the budget alone. That figure includes the trash override.
That would amount to about $608 in new taxes for the median household in the first year.
According to Grader, restoring some of this year’s town-side cuts would cost:
- $857,633 for Abbot Public Library
- $307,975 for the Planning and Community Development Office
- $134,691 for Public Works
- $126,648 for the Finance Department
- $122,554 for Public Buildings
- $118,171 for the Cemetery Department
- $76,201 for the Council on Aging
- $65,482 for the Police Department
- $64,261 for the Fire Department
Robidoux and Pfifferling are expected to present the schools’ override amount and plan April 8. Those figures will be combined with the town-side proposal to determine the total override request to be presented at Town Meeting.
Ultimately, voters at Town Meeting, which begins May 4, will decide whether to approve the town’s budget and any overrides.
