Boxborough Finance Committee Votes Library Budget, Sets March 25 as Final Warrant Vote Deadline

BOXBOROUGH -- March 18, 2025, Boxborough Finance Committee approves library budget at $433,501 and debates override warning language. The committee voted unanimously Tuesday to fund the library at $115,990 in expenses and $317,511 in salary, the only formal budget vote of the evening, while Town Administrator Mike Johns confirmed two of three union contracts are settled with a third pending ahead of a March 25 "drop dead date" for all remaining warrant votes. Chair Tony Newton walked members through a revised Finance Committee annual report for the back of the town warrant, where debate centered on how directly to tell residents that a Proposition 2½ override is likely needed in fiscal year 2027, the committee settling on language saying it "anticipates" the town "may" need one. Members also confirmed bond counsel has calculated $108,000 in first-year interest on the fire station design bond, with that payment falling in FY27 rather than FY26, and noted a construction bond of $30 million to $37 million is expected to be brought to voters next year. The town's new growth projection for FY26 stands at approximately $200,000, down sharply from $380,000 the prior year, leaving roughly $800,000 in levy margin, a gap Newton called "an uncomfortable margin."