Boxborough Finance Committee targets A-minus budget, signals override unlikely this spring

BOXBOROUGH — December 16, 2025 — Boxborough Finance Committee sets informal $1 million levy buffer target for FY27. Meeting Tuesday, the committee reviewed a dual-track budget model showing Budget A at 5.5 percent growth and Budget B at 2 percent, settling informally on an "A-minus" target that Chair Tony Newton said would likely keep the town below the levy limit without a general operating override at May town meeting. The current Budget A model leaves roughly $630,000 of levy capacity, which members called uncomfortably thin. Member Michelle Ryan warned against cuts to known recurring expenses — citing vehicle maintenance and taser contracts as examples — that could return as reserve fund transfers: "If we're not credible in this year's budget, we cannot pass an override next year." Member Maria Neeland flagged travel and conference increases in the draft Budget A as inconsistent with a scrubbed budget, and noted the town came in roughly $1 million under its operating budget in the prior year without ever receiving a clear explanation. The committee set Budget Saturday for January 4 with department-head presentations due by noon January 3, and confirmed a March 9 special town meeting at Blanchard for a fire station property purchase, with debt exclusion ballot questions to follow.