FY2026 Year-End Financial Update
At a glance
Based on auto-generated captions and the official minutes; figures may be misheard.
- What: the City Manager's monthly financial updates (December 2025 through June 30, 2026), taken together as items 4a to 4g, presented by CFO Tim McGourthy.
- Where it stands: all recommended for filing 3-0 on 2026-09-15.
- Next: state Department of Revenue certifies free cash; the Council sees free cash, budget adjustments and the tax rate around November. A Council discussion of the dual tax rate is expected in October.
FY2026 results
- Revenues about 101 percent of budget; expenditures about 94 percent; year ended in the black.
- State aid came in about $2.1 million under the budgeted figure; property tax collections about 99 percent.
- Snow: $5.5 million budgeted, about $10.5 million spent, covered by transfers from surplus budgets (see Winter Readiness and Snow Operations 2026-2027).
- Borrowing: about $36 million in notes and $10.5 million in 10-year bonds being signed September 16.
Sewer reserves
- Fell from about $19 million to about $3.5 million after the Holden Sewer Lawsuit (about $10 million) and a second lawsuit (about $6 million) tied to Route 20 (captioned "Ravoli"; see Route 20 Sewer Force Main Failures (23 Southwest Cutoff)).
- The sewer connection fee reserve had been folded in, which had lifted the balance.
- Policy is two months of reserves ($6.5 to $7 million), so the fund is at about half. Rating agencies are expected to ask about a rebuilding plan.
Other points raised
- Free cash expected above budget; a carbon mitigation reserve fund must be closed into it under a state ruling.
- Tax rates: the administration has never recommended a dual-rate split; the Council gets about 120 options. Gary Rosen and Morris A. Bergman debated ability to pay (property values from $15.4 billion to $24 billion; incomes from $4.6 billion to $5.6 billion).
- Community Preservation Act: FY27 budget about $8.9 million; surcharge payable online now and on the tax bill from January. Rosen said he regrets his earlier vote against putting it on the ballot.
- Red flags are reported through the monthly updates in aggregate (about 150 revenue lines tracked).
Discussion time
About 35 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-15 - Municipal and Legislative Operations Committee | 35 |
Log
- 2026-09-15 - Municipal and Legislative Operations Committee - CFO presented the June update; questions from Bergman (free cash, red flags, income data), Rosen (sewer reserves, dual tax rate, CPA) and Satya B. Mitra (snow budget, CPA online). All seven updates recommended for filing 3-0.