Boxborough Finance Committee approves 22 FY27 budget lines, holds six for review

BOXBOROUGH -- January 27, 2026, Boxborough Finance Committee votes 22 FY27 budget lines and questions police restructuring plan. The committee met January 27 and approved more than two dozen line items totaling over $3 million, including a $1,663,195 Middlesex Retirement assessment, a $453,410 library budget, and a $183,940 assessors budget, all by 6-0 votes. Six items, including legal services at $140,000 and dispatch at $84,569, were passed over pending additional information. The committee's longest discussion centered on a police chief's proposal to add a lieutenant and reduce patrol officers by one; member John Connor pressed for documentation, saying "you can't just trust someone saying, oh, it will save us money, I want to see the numbers," and the committee scheduled a full review for February 10. Chair Tony Newton also flagged a $1 million discrepancy between competing debt service models, tasking Hilltop Advisors with an updated debt table before the committee can finalize its FY27 levy limit projection. Capital Saturday is set for February 7.