Paxton Town Meeting Balances Budget, Override Vote Set for August 10

Town Meeting · Meeting of June 23, 2026

Paxton Town Meeting balances a $640,000 deficit and defers override vote to August 10. At the June 23 annual Town Meeting, a presenter identified as Scott walked voters through 25 years of Wachusett Regional School District budget data, noting the Paxton assessment rose just 2.19 percent this fiscal year, below the Finance Committee's 2.5 percent ceiling, and that the district reduced 12 positions while applying $2.6 million toward lowering member-town assessments. A second presenter detailed how the town's initial operating budget deficit was reduced to zero through a series of cuts including lowering the reserve fund from $50,000 to $30,000, trimming the legal budget to $30,000, cutting unemployment costs by $60,650, and reducing CW MARS library consortium costs by $5,000, with updated state cherry sheet receipts also contributing.

County retirement costs, grown from 1.2 percent to 6.1 percent of the total town budget over 25 years, were identified as the dominant structural budget pressure. Voters were told that a Proposition 2½ override ballot scheduled for August 10 would determine whether 24-7 police coverage, a DPW operating position, and other cut services are restored to fiscal year 2027 budgets.

In the full story:

• Convening of the Meeting and Voting Procedures
• Wachusett Regional School District Budget Presentation
• Town Operating Budget Presentation, Deficit Reduction to Zero
• Override Ballot, August 10 Vote
• Substantive content: The override package as described includes
• Who Was There
• The complete report, 1,898 words

Source: the Town Meeting meeting of June 23, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.