By Betsy Levinson — Betsy@concordbridge.org
Concord officials are cautiously optimistic the town won’t have to raise spending enough to trigger a budget override for fiscal 2026.
But “we project that the median residential tax bill will increase by 7.8 percent annually over the next five years in order to keep up with spending,” Finance Committee chair Eric Dahlberg warned. “That trend is clearly unsustainable.”
“I’m terrified,” said FinCom member Karlen Reed, referring to the possibility that an override may become a reality in the near future.
Municipal and school financial data requested by the FinCom is now under scrutiny as part of budget guideline-setting. The guideline establishes a ceiling for how much public spending can go up in a year.
By Massachusetts law, municipal budgets can’t increase more than 2 1/2 percent in one year. Towns that don’t have enough savings to offset the gap must cut spending or ask Town Meeting voters to pass an override to raise taxes.
Dahlberg said while the fiscal 2026 budget is still in the works, “total property taxes will be less than the levy limit, which means an operational override would not be necessary.”
Levy and forecast
According to figures Concord Chief Financial Officer Anthony Ansaldi recently provided to the Finance Committee, the fiscal 2026 tax levy is estimated at approximately $121.6 million. The maximum the town is allowed to collect is slightly higher, at about $125.4 million.
Ansaldi’s revenue forecast for fiscal 2026 is projected at about $141.9 million. In addition to around $121.6 million from property taxes, that includes $6 million in state aid and $14 million from other sources.
Expenses — assuming a 4 percent increase — for fiscal 2026 are projected at just under $141 million, which includes about $34 million for town government, $30 million for the joint town and school accounts, and $77 million for the three school budgets — Minuteman, the public schools and the regional school district.)
The FinCom will issue its preliminary spending guideline at its November 21 meeting.
New joint school guideline
“For the first time, the Concord and Carlisle Finance Committees have reached an agreement to work together to issue a joint budget guideline for Concord-Carlisle High School” for fiscal 2026, Dahlberg said.
The Carlisle guideline-setting process is “less formal than what we use,” he said.
After the preliminary guideline is set, Dahlberg said the number would be shared with Carlisle’s FinCom. The final guideline will be announced in mid-December.
