Milton’s financial leadership is charting a new course to navigate a looming budget crisis, moving with what Warrant Committee Chair Jay Fondley described as irregular speed to address a projected multimillion-dollar shortfall. During a special Thursday night meeting, Fondley presented a revised multi-year forecast that suggests an accelerated timeline for a local tax override, moving the target date from 2030 to 2029. The strategic shift, combined with more optimistic revenue assumptions, could potentially reduce a daunting $3.2 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year down to approximately $400,000.

Fondley called the meeting outside the committee’s regular Monday schedule to bypass the information silos created by Open Meeting Law. I've done some work with this year's budget and coming years... I wanted to get this information in front of you and the town as a whole as soon as possible, Fondley told the committee, including members Lorraine D., Grace Doherty, and Ronald Sea, who were present for the quorum. The urgency stems from a perfect storm of factors: health insurance inflation significantly outpacing previous 2% estimates and a school department request for a 5.2% budget increase.

The core of the fiscal challenge lies in historical assumptions that Fondley characterized as unrealistic. Previous forecasts baked in 2.5% increases for school spending, while current data shows most peer districts in the state are seeing 5.5% year-over-year growth. The short version of how we got here is that around the time of the previous override, a forecast assumed all employees—town and school—would have a 2% pay increase. That was not realistic, Fondley noted. He highlighted that if state aid had simply kept pace with inflation since 2008, Milton would currently have an additional $10 million in its coffers.

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to the tension between school expenditures and taxpayer capacity. Brian Maguire questioned the 5% growth in school salaries, pointing out that student populations have remained flat for nearly a decade while expenditures have risen 78%. Milton’s teacher salaries are in the top third of the state... We should keep it in pace with inflation, Maguire argued. This prompted a swift defense from Julia Maxwell and Elaine Craighead. Craighead explained that teacher pay is dictated by negotiated steps and lanes for experience and advanced degrees, stating, If we didn't offer this, we wouldn't get quality teachers in Milton. Maxwell pushed back against the suggestion of overspending, noting, We are middle of the pack in per-pupil expenditure. We are not overspending on schools.

To bridge the gap and avoid cutting as many as 26 school positions, Fondley proposed a path forward that relies on less conservative accounting. By assuming 2.5% in Chapter 70 state aid based on the Governor’s budget and factoring in $1.25 million in new tax growth from ongoing 40B housing projects, the town can significantly lower the projected deficit. Additionally, Fondley proposed a creative swap involving the town’s free cash. Under this plan, the town would use $500,000 in free cash to fund a school stabilization reserve. In exchange, the school department would reduce its operating budget request by $900,000, allowing those funds to be used for staff retention rather than being locked away in reserves.

The proposal to move the next tax override up to 2029 sparked caution regarding taxpayer fatigue. Nicholas Tangney raised concerns about the timing of the request, noting that other major projects are already on the horizon. One challenge with an earlier override is that there could be two other overrides for the fire station and the school, Tangney said. Three overrides in a short period is a challenge for taxpayers. Fondley acknowledged the difficulty but insisted that transparency is the best tool for moving forward, suggesting the town needs to hold the taxpayers by the hand as they navigate these upcoming costs.

The committee also reviewed a more rigorous policy for the Operating Budget Stabilization Fund (OBSF), a townwide account designed to smooth the transition between overrides. Fondley proposed a baseline schedule where withdrawals grow by a set dollar amount annually until the fund is depleted in 2030, or 2029 if an override is sought earlier. While some members, including Lee Michael McLean, expressed eagerness to move toward final decisions for the 2027 fiscal year, McLean also emphasized the need for accountability. The Warrant Committee should issue a strongly worded statement that we shouldn't be here, McLean said, referring to the inaccuracy of previous forecasts. Mistakes were made, and we need to be clear about that when we sell this plan to Town Meeting.

The Warrant Committee is expected to take formal votes on the OBSF policy and the 2029 override recommendation during their regular meeting on Monday. Julia Maxwell concluded the session by emphasizing the human cost of the budget math. I don't want to overthink moving the override up a year, she said. I just don't want the schools to have to cut 26 positions.