Lunenburg Finance Committee Warns Against Bundled Override Ask Ahead of Tri-Board Meeting

Finance Committee · Meeting of March 5, 2026

Lunenburg's Finance Committee heard FY27 budget pitches from three departments and raised alarms about the risk of a large Proposition 2 1/2 override ask at its March 5 remote meeting. The Public Library's Director Muir presented a $654,168.24 request, a 3.5 percent increase driven by contractual salary steps and rising digital-resource costs, noting the town must appropriate at least $598,835.25 to keep the library's state certification and its $34,383.52 in annual state aid. Public Access Cable Manager Joe proposed a $297,506.41 budget against $200,000 in projected Comcast franchise revenue, seeking to cover a $97,506.41 deficit from retained earnings, up from $32,296 drawn last year, largely due to a $55,000 server replacement.

The Council on Aging presented a level-funded request. With a tri-board meeting on the FY27 budget and a potential override set for March 10, committee member Anna warned that bundling the school committee's restoration budget, estimated at roughly $1 million above level service, into a single override question risks a repeat of 2012, when voters rejected an override by a two-to-one margin.

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Source: the Finance Committee meeting of March 5, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.