Norton Finance Committee Receives $84.8 Million FY27 Budget, Votes to Keep Chair

Finance Committee · Meeting of April 6, 2026

Norton Finance Committee weighs $84.8 million fiscal year 2027 budget built on a three-year austerity glide path. Town Manager Mark Gould presented the balanced proposal Monday, reducing reliance on one-time free cash from roughly $2.7 million to $1.6 million and eliminating a $500,000 stabilization draw, with a target of full structural balance by fiscal year 2029. The schools received a $371,017 increase — 1 percent against a $1.6 million request — while fixed and shared costs rose from $22.9 million to $24.1 million, driven by health insurance that climbed nearly 8 percent despite efforts that saved approximately $400,000 against an original 12 percent projection.

One police and one firefighter position will go unfilled, and Public Works will not plow sidewalks or empty rail trail receptacles. Committee members called for a detailed side-by-side spreadsheet before voting, and the committee also voted 9-0 with one abstention to retain its chairman after a sharp opening rebuke of School Committee members who had emailed complaints about the prior week's meeting.

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Source: the Finance Committee meeting of April 6, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.