By Beth David, Editor
The Fairhaven Select Board, Finance Committee, and School Committee held a joint meeting on Tuesday, 3/31/26, to discuss the budget and a possible Proposition 2 1/2 override vote. The Select Board and School Committee both managed to agree on the budget numbers, but the Finance Committee did not vote, deciding to hold off until their Thursday, 4/2, meeting. Meanwhile, the Town Meeting warrant booklet needs to go to the printer on Friday morning, 4/3.
Article 8 will present to Town Meeting a balanced budget that does not require an override, but will result in cuts to some departments. Article 9 will present proposed override with specific amounts to restore those cuts. If Article 9 passes at TM, it will then be on the ballot in the annual election on 6/9.
Article 9 proposes an override of $760,149 to fund operations for Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27). It includes $67,532 to restore the animal control officer to full time, and $9,000 to restore operation of the Animal Shelter.
Police and Fire overtime would be restore at $25,000 each.
The Department of Tourism (Community Development), which is completely eliminated in the non-override budget, would restore with $76,532 in wages, and $25,709 in operating expenses.
Public works would receive $50,000 to restore one of the two positions cut in the non-override budget.
The largest share would go to the School Department with $481,376 to get that budget to $500,000 over Net School Spending, which is the amount required by state law. The non override budget provides only $18,624 over Net School Spending. Because the number is an estimate that is not certified until two years out, municipalities need to have a buffer so as not to be under the state requirement.
The total School Department budget would be $26,530,067 without the override, and $27,011,443 with the override. Tuition to GNB Voc-Tech and Bristol Aggie is $3,220,044.
The town’s total operating budget from the general fund is $62,935,726.
The sticking point with the Finance Committee members seemed to be the numbers for the School Department that changed from the last joint meeting.
The School Department budget was increased by $150K, using money from the health insurance line item, which the town was able to reduce after talking with the consultant, according to Town Administrator, Keith Hickey.
Finance Committee members also had lots of questions about the lease of the Tripp School to SMEC (South-eastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative) and a request from Capital funds for $700,000 for a new roof.
School Superintendent, Tara Kohler, said that SMEC gets a favorable lease rate because of the arrangement with collaborative, which includes 10 school districts. All districts have to provide some space for special needs students to be educated. The town gets a favorable collaborative rate, but just as important, the town is guaranteed a spot for each student. In some cases, the district might have to hire a full time, specialized paraprofessional for one student for as long as that student was in the system.
FinCom members had lots of questions about the lease, how the rules of the collaborative work, and questioned whether or not the district had done its due diligence to get the best deal.
“We’re not stupid. We do ask questions,” said School Committee chairperson, Brian Monroe. “It’s not that we don’t ask questions. We’re not idiots.”
In the end, the Finance Committee did not vote on either article, opting to wait until its meeting on Thursday. The Select Board voted to recommend for adoption on all three articles: Article 8, the operating budget; Article 9, the proposed override; and Article 14, the General Fund Capital Budget that includes the $700,000 for a new roof for the Tripp School.
The Select Board also discussed the amount of money to ask for in the proposed override.
As he has expressed previously, SB member, Andrew Romano, said he believed the town should ask for $2–3 million to cover the town for the next two to three years.
Mr. Hickey reiterated his reasoning for asking for only enough to get through next year. He said he did not think it would pass.
Mr. Romano disagreed, saying that the last, failed attempt at an override failed because people felt it was not enough to solve the problem. He said they would get one shot at it. If they returned next year looking for another override, it would be sure to fail.
Mr. Hickey said other reasons for holding off on the bigger number is he just did not know what they would need due to several other variables. One is that the wind turbine lease is coming up and he believes the operator is not interested in renewing it. That would be about $300K in revenue the town would lose.
The other is the Acushnet Schools tuition agreement. The town is currently in negotiations with Acushnet, but they made a deal with Old Rochester Regional and New Bedford. It is unclear if they will renew the contract with Fairhaven, but in any case, Acushnet students now have ORR as an option, so Fairhaven is likely to get fewer students. Acushnet currently pays about $1.2 million in tuition each year.
All materials are online in the public packets associated with the meetings. All meetings are available on demand at FairhavenTV.com.
Fairhaven’s Annual Town Meeting is on Saturday, 5/4, and will be streamed live at FairhavenTV.com and on channel 97 on Comcast.
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