Townsend Finance Committee unanimously backs FY27 budget ahead of May 5 town meeting

TOWNSEND — April 30, 2026 — Townsend Finance Committee unanimously recommended the fiscal year 2027 operating budget and two other warrant articles at its April 30 work session, clearing the way for the May 5 annual town meeting. The five-member committee, chaired by Carol Haas, voted 5-0 on each major item, including Article 8, the full omnibus budget built on the assumption that last month's Proposition 2½ override did not pass, and Article 6, a slate of revolving fund spending limits covering accounts from the Board of Health recycling center ($45,000) to the Recreation Department ($100,000). On Article 4, the Community Preservation Act appropriation, members voted to bring floor amendments replacing fixed dollar estimates with percentages, with member Mary Jane Churchill arguing, "I just don't like hard numbers when it's not a hard number." The committee also flagged a dormant building inspector revolving fund carrying an $829 balance and a reading room account with roughly $27,000 as requiring closure articles at a future town meeting, and members warned that after FY27 the town will have virtually no free cash left after years of using reserves to balance the operating budget.