Boxborough Finance Committee Deadlocks 3-3 on Police and Public Works Budgets

BOXBOROUGH -- March 3, 2026, Boxborough Finance Committee splits 3-3 on police and public works budgets over a $20,000 single-year salary increase for the police chief. Members Maria Neiland, Michelle Ryan, and Joe Stolten voted against both department budgets, police at $1,885,753 and public works at $1,063,319, with Neiland saying the raise, signed in November when the town was still discussing an override, was "completely tone deaf" and could have been spread over three contract years as was standard practice. Chair Sean Connor, John Greiven, and Tony Newton voted in favor of both. The deadlocks were recorded for the warrant summary as a signal to Town Meeting voters; the salary increases are contractually binding regardless. Earlier in the meeting, the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District presented its FY27 budget of $122,593,238, a 4.75 percent overall increase, with Boxborough's assessment rising 5.57 percent to $17,734,103, driven largely by a 12.11 percent health insurance rate increase and a 16.09 percent jump in out-of-district special education tuitions. Superintendent Peter Light warned the committee that the district has exhausted most structural savings options and that next year's budget cycle will require a public conversation about funding levels and class sizes.