Boxborough boards agree no Proposition 2½ override needed for fiscal year 2027

BOXBOROUGH -- January 3, 2026, Boxborough Finance Committee and Select Board agree no override is needed for FY27. At the January 3 Budget Saturday session, Finance Committee Chair Tony Newton presented a levy model showing a 1.9 percent effective levy increase for FY27, leaving roughly $1.1 million in buffer below the allowable levy limit on a $30.9 million operating budget that includes a 5.3 percent Acton-Boxborough Regional School District assessment increase. Town Administrator Mike Garbino confirmed the town's Budget A is a level-service plan built without layoffs. Both Newton and Garbino stated directly that an override will almost certainly be required in FY28, compounded by a roughly $100,000 jump in Neshoba regional dispatch fees and anticipated fire station debt service. Police Chief John Shefchik disclosed a new cruiser-detail revolving account holding $10,400 as of December 1, which requires Town Meeting authorization this May. Fire Chief John Kivlin reported the department is running two firefighters short, with overnight staffing dropping to three, below the four-per-apparatus NFPA standard, on most nights, drawing pointed questions from board members about mutual aid reliance and community safety expectations.