WESTFORD — The Finance Committee voted Thursday night to recommend several articles, advancing a number of major spending proposals to the March 28 Town Meeting.
At the Feb. 26 meeting, the committee unanimously approved Article 1, which accepts town reports, without deliberations. Article 2, which seeks approval of fiscal year 2026 supplemental budget appropriations and transfers, was presented by Finance Director Dan O’Donnell.
Among the largest requests was a $550,000 appropriation from free cash to cover the town’s fiscal year snow and ice deficit, higher than in recent years due to January’s recent snowstorms. O’Donnell told the committee the figure could be adjusted before Town Meeting if necessary, though the town could also make transfers later in the fiscal year if additional storms occur.
The committee also considered a $150,000 free cash appropriation to support the town’s proposed Pay-As-You-Throw trash program. The funding would allow the town to purchase barrels and pre-order trash bags ahead of a July 1 implementation date. O’Donnell said that most barrels will be covered by a grant, though the town must provide a matching contribution of roughly $12 to $13 per barrel. The funds will help to provide barrels for the entire town.
The upfront cost is largely a one-time expense, and the program is expected to have a positive long-term financial impact. Barrels will remain with each property when residents move, and additional barrels for new developments are expected to be funded through the operating budget.
The town is also requesting a $290,000 supplemental appropriation for the Health Insurance Medicare Supplemental plan, along with a $90,000 increase to the Recreation Enterprise expense budget to support youth programs that have grown increasingly popular in recent years.
The third motion seeks $180,000 to pay off remaining balances for the Plain Road and Carlisle Road Sidewalk projects. Town Meeting had previously authorized borrowing up to $600,000 for the Plain Road Sidewalk project, but the use of mitigation funds from Newport Materials reduced the town’s share to $95,000. Officials recommend paying the remaining balance outright rather than issuing long-term bonds for the project.
Similarly, the Carlisle Road Sidewalk project, originally authorized in 2020, cost the town $85,000 after mitigation funding from Newport Materials mitigation funding. O’Donnell said officials recommend using approximately $166,000 in free cash to close out the projects, along with transferring remaining balances from the engineering master plan and the Oak Hill Road, Plain Road and Moore Road infrastructure improvement project.
Finally, O’Donnell presented a fourth motion requesting approximately $248,000 from stormwater enterprise retained earnings to fund the Pond Brook and Blue Brook culvert design. Although Town Meeting previously authorized a $500,000 bond for the project, the remaining balance is roughly half that amount. Officials recommend paying off the balance directly rather than issuing debt and incurring additional interest costs.
The committee approved all appropriations unanimously, except for the Pay-As-You-Throw funding. Members voted 7-1 in favor of the $150,000 appropriation for the town’s proposed Pay-As-You-Throw trash program. Finance Committee Clerk Dennis Galvin was opposed.
The committee then turned to Community Preservation Committee funding recommendations. CPC Chair Bob Jefferies presented 17 project applications totaling more than $4.2 million in available funds. Under the Community Preservation Act, 10% of annual revenues must be reserved for each of three categories: community housing, historic resources and open space.
Jefferies said the committee held five meetings to review the applications, all of which met state eligibility requirements. One request for the First Parish Church Meeting House was reduced by approximately $450,000 to $591,000 as part of a phased plan to stabilize and rebuild the church steeple. Another project involving herbicide treatment at Forge Pond was amended to prohibit the use of diquat on the Westford side of the pond.
The committee unanimously recommended all CPC projects except for the First Parish Church request, which was considered separately. Members voted 6-2 to approve the $591,000 allocation for the project, with Galvin and Finance Committee Chair Kristina Greene voting against it.
The meeting adjourned following the approval of the minutes.
