Special Town Meeting on a frigid Thursday evening approved its sole article unanimously. This vote amended the fiscal year 2026 operating budget to align with actual debt and insurance costs, which are lower than what was estimated and approved at Annual Town Meeting on May 5.

A simple majority was needed for passage and was easily achieved. This meeting, which lasted only 15 minutes, was convened in the Hopkinton High School auditorium. It was prompted by the town’s saving about $5.7 million on health care and debt payment projections. The savings required that the budget be amended before property tax rates could be set.

Town moderator Zachary Kosan thanked members for “coming out on the coldest night of the year” for the important vote.

Because the FY 26 budget is lower than previously anticipated, the quarterly property tax bills also will be lower. Property tax rates are based on the actual numbers rather than the estimated amount. Tax rates can be set now that the article has been approved. Tax bills will go out later this month.

The article called for the general fund appropriation to be reduced from $126,479,272 to $120,825,637. It also sought to reduce the total debt service amount from $12,887,957 to $9,362,304 and the total employee benefits and insurance amount from $21,267,722 to $19,139,739. The initial amounts had been set forth in an Appropriation Committee report approved on April 16.

CFO explains budget process

The budget voted on at May’s Annual Town Meeting was based on estimates gleaned from the previous year’s amount, stressed Kyla LaPierre, the town’s chief financial officer. Total expenditures originally were projected to exceed $154 million. The revenue from other sources was estimated to come in at $46 million.

Unanticipated expenses that were not part of the original budget included a snow and ice removal deficit of $500,000 and tax abatements/exemptions of $530,000. In addition, new growth was $400,000 less than originally projected, which reduced this estimated revenue source.

LaPierre added that the $90 million the town borrowed in FY 26 was the most the town ever borrowed in a fiscal year. The highest amount in the past 10 years was $25 million, she said. In contrast, $30 million will be borrowed in FY 27.

“Our estimate was really conservative,” she said. “And when the borrowing went out to bid, we were able to obtain a really good rate and a short-term loan for the majority of the money.”

This created a savings of over $3 million.

Added LaPierre: “When you pull all of these factors together, the amount we calculated to raise to cover our expenses was too high.”

Select Board members (from left) Amy Ritterbusch, Shahidul Mannan and Joe Clark join Town Manager Elaine Lazarus at Thursday’s Special Town Meeting. PHOTO/JOHN CARDILLO

The amount needed to raise by taxation was less than the levy limit of $102 million. It previously was estimated that $108 million would need to be collected.

Said LaPierre: “Our expenses were less for FY 26, and you all benefit from that.”

The only question was posed by Darlene Hayes. She asserted the state caught the overestimate and not the town.

“This was caught by the town during the tax-setting process,” Francis countered. “We cannot even submit forms to the Department of Revenue until they are underneath the levy limit. So when we were doing our calculations, this was caught by the town.”

She added that the town brought the information to the DOR to “understand what our options were for solving the process.”

“The DOR calculation uses actuals on the revenue side and estimates on the expenditures side,” explained LaPierre. “This makes our budget-setting process challenging when we aren’t able to use our estimates for both the revenue as well as the expenditures.”

LaPierre also offered recommendations for the future. They included using free cash for snow and ice removal. Forecasting abatements and exemptions higher than usual will be included in the budget process.

She also said the town is considering a placeholder for a Special Town Meeting next fall in case it is needed in this type of situation. This will allow for the use for actual numbers and will prevent the need for a meeting during the holiday season.