Webster Finance Committee Unanimously Approves $67 Million FY2026 Operating Budget

WEBSTER — April 28, 2025 — Webster Finance Committee unanimously approves $67 million FY2026 budget, drawing $1.3 million from free cash. The committee voted to accept the administration's proposed operating budget at an April 28 public hearing, with Town Administrator Matt telling the panel that a nearly $1.3 million spike in special education transportation alone "exceeds our additional levy by about $300,000 — so our additional tax dollars are gone." The headline 8 percent budget increase is largely artificial, driven by a $5 million school building debt exclusion up $1.1 million from the prior year; the true operational increase is 4.19 percent. Finance Director Tim reported the town's free cash balance stands at $6.5 million, with roughly $3 million projected to remain after all proposed uses, and the stabilization fund at approximately $6 million — a combined reserve position of about $12 million that the town's bond rating agencies consider appropriate. The school department absorbed $400,000 to $500,000 in reductions from level-service costs to hold its increase to 3.8 percent, and the committee also unanimously accepted the FY2026 capital improvement program and approved two emergency reserve fund transfers for HVAC repairs at the library and police station.