The Finance Committee is pleased to report that we have approved final guidelines for the development of the town and school budgets for fiscal year 2026. The guidelines are a recommendation for growth in spending that we believe Concord can sustain, given projected cost growth and estimated taxpayer ability to pay.
Our process includes considering external metrics (growth in personal income and costs for relevant goods and services), presentations from the budgeting entities about anticipated needs, and community input. For the first time, we collaborated with the Carlisle Finance Committee on the CCRSD figure. We appreciate the spirit of cooperation shown throughout by the town and the schools.
The final combined FY26 guideline is 2.79%, which is significantly lower than in prior years. CCRSD’s increase is 3.48%; the CPS increase is 2.40% (which takes into consideration savings from the middle school consolidation); the town’s increase is 2.85%. Both CPS and the town had asked for larger increases, but both have now set an expectation that their FY26 budgets will meet the final guideline. This is good news for the taxpayers.
Challenges remain. We are aware of the burden on citizens of property tax increases. We are concerned that we will soon exhaust our excess tax levy capacity (the amount remaining before the total property tax levy exceeds the limits of Proposition 2½, requiring an override or very significant cuts. We are hopeful that school and town leaders will use this year’s budget process to identify efficiencies that will carry forward to future years. It will not be easy, but it’s necessary to maintain Concord’s fiscal health.
We truly value the input of taxpayers. Every Finance Committee meeting begins with public comment. Please join us to share your ideas and priorities.
Lois Wasoff
Sudbury Road
Vice chair, Concord Finance Committee
