WORTHINGTON — The 32 articles on Saturday’s annual Town Meeting will set the stage for the town to find a path out of a potential Proposition 2½ override request in approximately 35 days.
As it stands now, the proposed fiscal 2026 budget is $6 million, a 12% increase from the current year’s $5.4 million spending plan. If voters adopt the proposed budget, it would mean a $120,000 deficit that voters would need to figure out how to fund at a special Town Meeting in July.
Traditionally, the town holds its annual Town Meeting on a Saturday in May, but the meeting was delayed this year by the Finance Committee and Select Board as they discussed the budget.
“We have tried to reduce some budgets. Some are less than last year,” said Select Board Chair Charley Rose.
The most notable cuts to town departments include slashes to funding for police and the highway department.
To reduce the police budget, the town will now have a single full-time officer instead of two. This would bring the police budget down to $146,550 next year, or 30% less than the current year budget of $191,053.
Meanwhile, the highway department is requesting $626,090 next fiscal year, down almost $30,000 from the current year.
Rose said next year’s budget features many of the “usual” big ticket items, including $1.7 million for schools, up from $1.4 million in fiscal 2025. That’s about a third of the town’s total expenses.
All educational expenses, including out-of-town tuition and transportation, and funding for the vocational school, rose more than 13%, from $2 million in 2025, to $2.1 million in the 2026 proposed budget.
Many line items were only marginally more expensive than last year. Compensation for town officials equals $76,988, a small increase from FY25’s total of $75,111. Similarly, funding for the Library and Fire Department have gone up approximately $1,000 from the current fiscal year.
Several articles seek to draw from the town’s $1.5 million rainy day, or stabilization, fund to pay for capital expenses.
Article 10 seeks $5,800 for a new roof on the town hall. Article 22 requests $18,000 to repair the town’s existing highway department truck, and add a plow onto it.
Article 23 asks for $10,000 for one-time fixes on South Worthington Road, and $2,100 is requested in Article 24 to purchase eight, 5-foot round tables to be used in Town Hall.
Aside from the budget, residents will be asked to consent to the installation of school bus violation technology in Article 6, which assist law enforcement in preventing cars from passing stopped busses that are unloading children.
After Town Meeting, there will be an exact number for how much of a deficit the town will be in, which could be in the $200,000 range, officials said.
Town officials have said that inflation rates are throwing the budget off.
In the past, the town has taken from its stabilization fund to plug budget gaps and to avoid overrides. This happened in the current fiscal year, with residents approving $112,606 to cover a shortfall.
Rose said, “I don’t think we’ll want to keep doing that,” but ultimately it will be residents choosing in over a month whether to reduce spending, draw from stabilization funds, or be taxed over the 2½ percent levy limit.
Samuel Gelinas can be rechaed at sgelinas@gazettenet.com.
