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.