Finance Committee backs $2 million excluded-debt fix for high school wastewater plant

WAYLAND — February 23, 2026 — Wayland Finance Committee unanimously advances $2M wastewater excluded debt and three town meeting articles. Chair Phil Giudice presented the Select Board on Feb. 23 with a recommendation to fund the high school wastewater treatment plant repair through $2 million of excluded debt, separate from a contested $2.5 million athletic fields request that Giudice said lacks vetted numbers. "I don't think they know the numbers right now," he said of the fields proposal, which the committee asked member Bill Huss to investigate before March 16. The committee voted 6-0-0 to recommend Article FF (CPA set-asides totaling $831,618), Article GG ($363,060 in CPA projects including $123,000 for Dudley Pond and $56,155 for the Grout-Heard House), and Article I ($250,000 to the Capital Stabilization Fund). Member Carl Barnes called the schools' 4.9 percent budget increase "pretty lean," noting most growth is mandated special education and transportation.