The FY 2024 total proposed budget for the town is up by 2.7% over this year’s figure, though the final amount for Lincoln School spending won’t be publicly known until the Annual Town Meeting (ATM) on Saturday, March 25.
Voter check-in for the ATM begins at 8:30 a.m. and the meeting will start at 9:30 a.m. in the Donaldson Auditorium and Todd Lecture Hall. Masks are optional in those areas, though they will be required for those who wish to sit in the nearby Reed Gym. For the first time this year, attendees may ask questions and vote from the gym in addition to seeing a livestream of the proceedings. Lunches prepared by Twisted Tree will be available for purchase in the Dining Commons.
According to the ATM Financial Section and Warrant posted on the town website and mailed to residents, the original K-8 education budget called for an increase of $692,301 or 5.5%. That request included “a new level service to address the needs of students post pandemic” — hiring 3.5 FTE (full-time equivalent) instructional coaches at the Lincoln and Hanscom Schools.
However, after the warrant was printed, Lincoln Public Schools revised its budget request downward by $194,000. The warrant notes on page 26 that since the hiring of incoming Superintendent of Schools Parry Graham, retiring Superintendent Becky McFall had withdrawn the request for the new coaches. The Finance Committee will recommend that the $194,000 be added to this year’s contribution to the town’s debt stabilization fund instead.
The School Committee also included an added 1% in its budget request for contract negotiations with the teachers’ union, but the actual cost won’t be known until a new contract is signed.
The public hearing on the budget held in February can be viewed here (the presentation starts at around 56:00) and a March 20 online Q&A session with the FinCom can be viewed here.
Cash capital
The FinCom is proposing cash capital expenditures totaling $661,376, plus $138,705 for town and school maintenance (Articles, 15, and 16 on page 10-11 of the warrant). In a separate measure, voters will be asked to add $520,000 to a revolving fund to enable the town to purchase a new ambulance. The cash capital items include a new police car, a DPW pickup truck and trash compactor, and school emergency radios.
Community Preservation Committee
The Community Preservation Committee is requesting $856,353 in Article 10 (page 14), down from $1.18 million in this year’s budget. Debt service for the town office building renovation and the Wang property and athletic field account for almost half that figure, while repairs and upgrades on properties owned by the Housing Commission total $245,500.
Water Department
The Water Department has benefited from federal ARPA (Covid-19 relief) funding and is planning to stay within the 2.5% annual budget increase as recommended by the FinCom. The department is requesting $278,411 for capital expenses in Article 22. Of that, $210,411 would come from bonding and the rest from retained earnings.
Projects that were previously funded but are still in process include replacing the Tower Road well, repairing the Bedford Road storage tank cover, and evaluating the emergency interconnect with Wayland. Bidding for the first two projects will take place this spring.