Finance Committee unanimously backs $46.7 million FY26 budget for town meeting

WEST BRIDGEWATER — April 3, 2025 — West Bridgewater Finance Committee unanimously recommends a $46.7 million fiscal year 2026 budget for town meeting, closing a $1.1 million gap with free cash. The committee voted Thursday to forward the $46,717,898 spending plan, which is up approximately 4.7 percent over fiscal year 2025, after a presentation from Town Administrator David, who called it "the most difficult budget to put together" in his 12 years with the town. Net state aid fell by $105,000 year over year — a figure the administrator said he has never seen in his career — with Chapter 70 education aid rising only $85,000 compared to $460,000 the prior year, forcing the town to fund roughly 95 percent of its $2.2 million budget increase locally. The school department and Southeastern Regional together account for 61 percent of the operational budget, and the administrator told the committee flat out: "You cannot have a 7%, an 8%, and a 6% sequentially year after year in any one budget that makes up 50% of the budget." The town holds $3.4 million in stabilization — about 7.8 percent of operating expenses — and carries an AA-plus bond rating the administrator said must be protected ahead of a potential school construction vote.