Finance Committee cuts police, fire, DPW lines
The Finance Committee trimmed the FY27 budget but did not settle on an override figure. Members approved cuts of $8,000 from Planning, a net $114,292 from four DPW lines, $20,000 from Select Board events and $26,000 from police, and restored $150,000 to the Reserve Fund.
Finance Committee · Meeting of March 31, 2026
HOLDEN — The Finance Committee trimmed the FY27 budget but did not settle on an override figure. Members approved cuts of $8,000 from Planning, a net $114,292 from four DPW lines, $20,000 from Select Board events and $26,000 from police, and restored $150,000 to the Reserve Fund. Al said police budgeted $354,000 for court overtime over 10 years and spent $66,000.
A proposed $34,800 police cut failed, and a $52,000 fire cut and a $50,000 OPEB removal were also defeated. The committee left the Gale Free Library and Senior Center unfunded, with $407,000 needed to restore them against $150,000 in capacity. A what-if showed a $4.5 million override, or $632 on the average home.
In the full story:
- The Full Story
- Why It Matters
- Key Motions & Votes
- Source
- Holden's community access TV: Finance Committee meeting, March 31, 2026
- The complete report: 959 words
Source: the Finance Committee meeting of March 31, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.
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