Hamilton Adopts Balanced $42.9 Million FY 2026 Budget Without Override

HAMILTON -- January 21, 2025, Hamilton Select Board and Finance Committee receive a balanced $42.9 million FY 2026 budget with no Proposition 2½ override required. The town manager and finance director presented the plan at a joint meeting Tuesday, showing total expenditures rising just 1.03 percent, or $437,068, over the prior year, with education costs, at 62 percent of the budget, up 3.83 percent to $26,281,163. A $550,000 supplemental pension contribution funded through free cash and a 17.66 percent jump in the retirement assessment drew pointed questions from committee members about long-term sustainability, with one member calling the dynamic "a double-edged sword." The town manager acknowledged a possible data error in the water enterprise fund capital line that he pledged to resolve before the next Finance Committee meeting, and said he cannot guarantee an override will never be necessary but is working to identify up to $600,000 in operational savings before the FY 2027 budget cycle. Annual Town Meeting is set for April 5.