After months of budget negotiations that began with a projected deficit of $1.6 million, the Select Board on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve a fiscal 2027 budget of $36,731,872 that includes a Proposition 2½ override of $135,370—a fraction of what once seemed necessary and well below the $396,754 the Finance Committee had recommended as recently as February.
A Proposition 2½ override is a voter-approved exception to the state law that limits annual property tax increases to 2.5% plus an allowance for new construction. Without it, the town cannot raise taxes beyond that cap to fund the approved budget.
The override, which requires a majority vote at the May 5 Town Election, would add approximately $64 to the annual tax bill for a home assessed at the town average of roughly $918,000…