Town Administrator Rob Dolan provided an update on the fiscal year 2026 (FY26) budget outlook at last Thursday’s Select Board meeting, calling it “the most concerning I have seen since the economic crisis of 2008.” He warned that the town may need to consider an override vote in the spring.
A 12.9% increase in the state insurance cost is among the biggest financial challenges facing the town. The Group Insurance Commission announced the increase last week, marking the largest jump in the state’s history.
“To put that into perspective, the annual budget increase for Lynnfield benefits over the past eight years has wavered between 3% and 5%,” Dolan said. “That benefit increase announced today, currently calculated, is a $1.3 million cost increase for FY26 from FY25. This line item is a mandatory fixed cost that we do not manage, but must pay.”
Dolan also outlined significant funding increases needed for the town’s schools. Superintendent Thomas Geary estimated last month that a 7.8% budget increase would be necessary just to maintain current levels of operation.
That number has traditionally ranged between 3.6% and 4%, Dolan said, but meetings with school administrators have revealed that even the 7.8% budget increase would be inadequate.
“Without this funding, the schools have made it very clear that this will force substantial program and staff reductions across the Lynnfield Public Schools,” Dolan said. “In fact, although a work in progress, the education funding increase needed to maintain a level service budget for our schools may top $3.3 million, or 11%. That is a work in progress.”
Adding to this financial strain, Lynnfield is projected to receive just $180,000 in state aid, which, Dolan noted, “would maybe cover two positions.”
Summarizing the town’s budget outlook, Dolan said:
- Projected revenue increase for FY26: $2.3 million
- Increase in fixed benefit costs: $1.3 million
- Increase in education funding: $3.6 million
- Total projected cost increase: $5 million
“If the town of Lynnfield wants to maintain its current level of services in all departments, but especially the Lynnfield Public Schools, an override must be considered and debated this spring,” Dolan said. “As we have worked on this budget, which we will be formally presenting in March, we are cutting costs every single day, making reforms you will see, we are being creative, and absolutely working to leave no stone unturned.”
Dolan concluded by stressing the importance of working with each department, emphasizing that the fiscal challenge is not a spending issue, but a revenue issue.
Select Board Chair Dick Dalton encouraged residents to stay informed about the town’s budget challenges.
“There are some difficult choices that people will be asked to make. If we can make good decisions at town meetings when people are well informed, we will do whatever we can to provide you with the facts and the challenges we have to deal with.”
Select Board Vice Chair Phillip Crawford and Select Board Clerk Alex Leahy echoed Dalton’s sentiments, urging residents to ask questions and stay engaged before having to make tough decisions at future town meetings.
“In 12 years of being on this board, this is the first time that we’re really going to hit a budget we just cannot cover,” Crawford said. “It’s going to be a challenge this year. The COVID money that we got kept us going for probably another three or four years longer than it otherwise would have, so now is when we have to make some hard decisions.”
