Boxborough Finance Committee Approves $1.77 Million Police Budget for FY26

BOXBOROUGH — February 18, 2025 — Boxborough Finance Committee approves police budget at $1.77 million and warns a property tax override may be two years away. The five-member panel voted 5-0 on February 18 to set the fiscal year 2026 police department budget at $1,772,907, comprising $1,578,584 in salary and $194,323 in non-salary expenses, the only departmental line approved at the session. Chair Tony Newton cautioned that the town's raise-and-appropriate room stands at roughly $800,000 with collective bargaining contracts for the town administrator, assessor, and land use department still unpriced, saying "we don't have anywhere to go with moving funds around." Planning Board Chair Mark Soby briefed the committee on a slate of unresolved warrant articles, led by an MBTA Communities zoning overlay that could bring up to 115 multifamily units to town — with a site still unselected — and a governmental building overlay needed before the fire station project can move forward. Committee members agreed their Annual Town Meeting report and public messaging should explicitly flag that an operational override is "probably" needed within two years absent a significant change in school spending or state aid.