Budget-building season in full swing with $107 million proposal

Budget season is underway in Weston.

Town Manager Leon Gaumond presented the first draft of the town’s fiscal year 2027 operating budget to the Select Board on Tuesday, Jan. 27.

“This is the beginning of a lengthy process,” Gaumond said.

This year’s $107.28 million draft operating budget is 5%, or about $5.21 million, higher than FY26’s approved budget. Debt, post-employment benefits and other items raise the total proposed town budget to approximately $123.67 million.

Police department

Gaumond included a number of new requests in his proposal, including $191,317 for the Police Department to replace cruiser AEDs and radios, as well as a new patrol position.

According to Gaumond, a new patrol officer will help offset the costs of overtime.

“The patrol positions have been stagnant for a number of years, but our overtime budget has increased dramatically over that time trying to keep up with the demand,” he said.

Assistant Town Manager Lisa Yanakakis added the Police Department was having trouble covering all the overtime shifts.

Select Board member John McDonald expressed concern over whether savings would be realized once benefits and retirement costs were factored into the budget.

Finance Committee Chair Bharath Venkataraman said that based on the committee’s analysis, the new position could save more than $150,000 in overtime costs.

“I do agree with you, we should look at it very carefully, including benefits and retirement costs,” Venkataraman said. “We should add all those up, and unless there’s a saving, there’s no point adding an extra person.”

Arts and Innovation Center

The conversation also turned to the Arts and Innovation Center, the makerspace under the umbrella of the Weston Public Library.

In fall 2025, discussions about whether or not the town should continue to help fund the AIC began after the library covered the manager’s salary in its budget. Last September, the library trustees voted to end financial support at the end of the fiscal year. The AIC Advisory Board asked the trustees to extend for another year to allow the group to plan.

In the draft budget, Gaumond included the role, but said it would be up to residents when the budget is voted on this spring.

“Ultimately, it’s going to be Town Meeting’s decision,” he said. “If the townspeople strongly disagree with the funding of the AIC, we will quickly find out.”

Capital projects

Weston is also planning to fund a number of capital projects with free cash, which is unrestricted funds available to the town. Topping the list are $3.9 million for the Concord Road reconstruction project – although Gaumond said that might be funded through a separate Town Meeting article – and about $1.23 million for a new pumper fire engine.

The budget proposal also includes estimates for numbers that have yet to be solidified, including line items under union negotiations, as well as town pension and health insurance costs. In the draft, about $1.43 million is earmarked for health insurance.

“We have built in what we think to be a bad-case scenario, but we’re hopeful that the budget we ultimately adopt in May will be smaller,” Gaumond said.

Other line items of interest included the budget for the Traffic and Sidewalk Committee. Select Board Chair Lise Revers said she believed the committee should not have access to funding because it is an advisory board, citing a $100,000 survey conducted by the committee without Select Board approval.

“If they want to go forward with projects, they should come forward to the Select Board and request it,” she said. “I would cut that to zero and then request them to come to the Select Board.”

Discussions on the draft continued during the Finance Committee meeting on Thursday, Jan. 29.

The budget will return to the Select Board in late February for approval to include in the Annual Town Meeting warrant. Residents will be able to vote on the budget at Town Meeting in May.

“We are at the beginning of a long journey,” Gaumond said. “It’s not a sprint; it’s a marathon.”