Topics›Budgets & Taxes
Town budgets, tax rates, overrides, capital plans, free cash, and appropriations.
Wayland sells its last drops of sewer capacity as commission previews $2M Route 20 bond and $8M plant expansion placeholder.
Wayland sells its last drops of sewer capacity as commission previews $2M Route 20 bond and $8M plant expansion placeholder.
Wayland Finance Committee votes unanimously to prefer a no-override budget for fiscal year 2028.
Wayland Finance Committee votes unanimously to prefer a no-override budget for fiscal year 2028.
Wayland Select Board schedules 2027 Town Meeting and opens override talks as school and town projections converge. The board voted 5-0 on Monday to set the Annual Town Meeting for May 10-12, 2027, with a Town Election May 4, and 3-1-1 to keep the 6:30 p.m. start time.
Wayland's Capital Improvement Planning Committee opens fiscal 2028 review with a $2 million school ask and mounting IT costs.
Wayland's Capital Improvement Planning Committee opens fiscal 2028 review with a $2 million school ask and mounting IT costs.
Wayland Select Board schedules 2027 Town Meeting and opens override talks as school and town projections converge. The board voted 5-0 on Monday to set the Annual Town Meeting for May 10-12, 2027, with a Town Election May 4, and 3-1-1 to keep the 6:30 p.m. start time.
Stow Youth Baseball is putting out a call for volunteers to keep its Bingo fundraiser running, saying on its website that a lack of help could force the event's cancellation and lead to higher registration prices for players. The league described Bingo as its major fundraiser, used to k…
Stow Youth Baseball is putting out a call for volunteers to keep its Bingo fundraiser running, saying on its website that a lack of help could force the event's cancellation and lead to higher registration prices for players. The league described Bingo as its major fundraiser, used to k…
Twelve deeds were recorded in Orange between July 31 and Aug. 29, 2026, but only three disclosed sale prices, leaving much of the period's activity opaque. Prices among disclosed sales ranged from $10,000 to $139,000, with a median of $50,000. The top transaction was 40 Winter St., whic…
Norwell Public Library ends its Sunday hours after fiscal 2026 budget cuts, even as it lands new state funding. The library confirmed the seasonal Sunday closure is tied to FY26 budget impacts detailed on the town's website, leaving hours at Monday through Saturday only. At the same tim…
Bourne's Board of Assessors meets Friday, with the Finance Committee following Monday as town business ramps up before September. The two panels convene as the town's Sept. 2 application deadline nears for open seats on the Planning Board and School Committee, and as Bourne Public Schoo…
Reading voters will decide a fiscal 2028 Proposition 2½ override question on the Nov. 3 ballot, town officials announced this week. The town's new FY28 Override Hub lays out the question ahead of the vote, covering a budget year that begins July 1, 2027, though officials have not yet pu…
Norwell Public Library ends its Sunday hours after fiscal 2026 budget cuts, even as it lands new state funding. The library confirmed the seasonal Sunday closure is tied to FY26 budget impacts detailed on the town's website, leaving hours at Monday through Saturday only. At the same tim…
Shrewsbury closed fiscal 2026 with local revenue $2.6 million above budget, according to a new Patch report. The surplus arrived despite higher weather response and utility costs, per Patch, as a separate hearing weighed how to honor longtime Recreation Department employee Dawn Shannon …
Reading voters will decide a fiscal 2028 Proposition 2½ override question on the Nov. 3 ballot, town officials announced this week. The town's new FY28 Override Hub lays out the question ahead of the vote, covering a budget year that begins July 1, 2027, though officials have not yet pu…
Bourne's Board of Assessors meets Friday, with the Finance Committee following Monday as town business ramps up before September. The two panels convene as the town's Sept. 2 application deadline nears for open seats on the Planning Board and School Committee, and as Bourne Public Schoo…
Shrewsbury closed fiscal 2026 with local revenue $2.6 million above budget, according to a new Patch report. The surplus arrived despite higher weather response and utility costs, per Patch, as a separate hearing weighed how to honor longtime Recreation Department employee Dawn Shannon …
Boxford posted its fiscal 2027 proposed budget and capital plan for public review as early voting opened for the Sept. 1 primary. The Town Clerk's office also renewed its call for residents to sign on as election workers ahead of the state primary, with in-person early voting beginning …
South Hadley voters will decide a tax increase question at the polls on September 1. The ballot measure returns months after a previous vote on the issue, according to a report headlined "South Hadley residents to vote on new tax increase proposal" from Franklin County Now, though full …
Boxford posted its fiscal 2027 proposed budget and capital plan for public review as early voting opened for the Sept. 1 primary. The Town Clerk's office also renewed its call for residents to sign on as election workers ahead of the state primary, with in-person early voting beginning …
South Hadley voters will decide a tax increase question at the polls on September 1. The ballot measure returns months after a previous vote on the issue, according to a report headlined "South Hadley residents to vote on new tax increase proposal" from Franklin County Now, though full …
Enfield Town Council unanimously schedules September hearing for $511 million school construction appropriation. The Council voted unanimously on August 25 to approve Resolution 7676, scheduling a September 2 public hearing at 6 p.m. in Town Hall Council Chambers. The $511 million appropriation
Williamstown Select Board rejects every tax exemption, setting a single FY27 rate of $15.16 per $1,000. The board voted 5-0 four separate times, by roll call, denying the open space discount, residential exemption and small commercial exemption before maintaining a residential factor of 1.
Wayland Finance Committee resists FY28 override, wants cuts explored first.
Wayland Finance Committee resists FY28 override, wants cuts explored first.
Hamburg Town Board approves ambulance district on property tax basis. Supervisor Elizabeth Farrell Lorentz and the board held a public hearing and cleared environmental review for the proposed district, shifting emergency medical services from patient-pay to ad valorem property tax funding with an
Williamstown Select Board rejects every tax exemption, setting a single FY27 rate of $15.16 per $1,000. The board voted 5-0 four separate times, by roll call, denying the open space discount, residential exemption and small commercial exemption before maintaining a residential factor of 1.
Boxford promoted its Apple Festival and reminded residents that tax bills are due in News Flash alerts posted Monday. Both notices appeared on the town's website without additional scheduling detail, while the town continues preparing for the September 1 state primary. Elsewhere, MaxPre…
Sudbury's Capital Improvement Advisory Committee is seeking a new member to help vet major town, school and Lincoln-Sudbury capital projects. The panel reviews proposals with a total cost above $100,000 in a single year, or over $200,000 across multiple years, the threshold that typical…
Newton Public Schools are still working through fallout from a turbulent fiscal 2026 budget year, per a new report. Newton Patch's Tuesday, Aug. 25 morning briefing flagged continuing shifts inside the district tied to the rocky budget cycle, though the item stopped short of detailing s…
Sudbury's Capital Improvement Advisory Committee is seeking a new member to help vet major town, school and Lincoln-Sudbury capital projects. The panel reviews proposals with a total cost above $100,000 in a single year, or over $200,000 across multiple years, the threshold that typical…
Newton Public Schools are still working through fallout from a turbulent fiscal 2026 budget year, per a new report. Newton Patch's Tuesday, Aug. 25 morning briefing flagged continuing shifts inside the district tied to the rocky budget cycle, though the item stopped short of detailing s…
Boxford promoted its Apple Festival and reminded residents that tax bills are due in News Flash alerts posted Monday. Both notices appeared on the town's website without additional scheduling detail, while the town continues preparing for the September 1 state primary. Elsewhere, MaxPre…
Bedford's School Committee used its August 17 planning meeting to review capital facility needs, including the high school track: now 20 years old, it may get a roughly $175,000 recoat to buy another decade of life, but officials plan a September assessment before deciding between a rec…
Bedford's School Committee used its August 17 planning meeting to review capital facility needs, including the high school track: now 20 years old, it may get a roughly $175,000 recoat to buy another decade of life, but officials plan a September assessment before deciding between a rec…
Grafton Public Schools released a capital plan for Grafton Middle School's roofing needs ahead of the Aug. 26 first day. The move comes alongside two professional development days Aug. 24-25, open Kindergarten registration for 2026-27, and iPad deployment sessions for new Grafton High S…
Grafton Public Schools released a capital plan for Grafton Middle School's roofing needs ahead of the Aug. 26 first day. The move comes alongside two professional development days Aug. 24-25, open Kindergarten registration for 2026-27, and iPad deployment sessions for new Grafton High S…
Mansfield Finance Committee approves $14,100 for a stalled radio tower project after a $3 million free cash year.
Mansfield Finance Committee approves $14,100 for a stalled radio tower project after a $3 million free cash year.
Reading voters will decide the fate of a fiscal 2028 operational override on the Nov. 3 state election ballot this fall. Town Hall launched an "FY28 Override Hub" page as the roughly $6.5 million question, previewed in "Patch AM: How would the $6.5M override change Reading taxes and sch…
Sudbury's budget office earned national recognition this week for the clarity of its financial presentation, Sudbury Patch reports. The Historical Commission also announced the restoration of four historic granite roadside markers, and Sudbury Public Schools posted a fresh enrollment up…
Sudbury's budget office earned national recognition this week for the clarity of its financial presentation, Sudbury Patch reports. The Historical Commission also announced the restoration of four historic granite roadside markers, and Sudbury Public Schools posted a fresh enrollment up…
Reading voters will decide the fate of a fiscal 2028 operational override on the Nov. 3 state election ballot this fall. Town Hall launched an "FY28 Override Hub" page as the roughly $6.5 million question, previewed in "Patch AM: How would the $6.5M override change Reading taxes and sch…
Ulster Town Board approves tax settlement reducing property assessment $516,000. The board unanimously settled a tax certiorari action for the Courtyard property on Frank Sottile Boulevard, reducing the 2025 assessment from $2.03 million to $1.52 million going forward. Supervisor James E. Quigley
Wayland's Finance Committee Appointing Board loses its chair Sept. 1. Cherry C.
Wayland's Finance Committee Appointing Board loses its chair Sept. 1. Cherry C.
Property tax bills climbed in 109 Massachusetts communities for fiscal year 2026, Reading Patch reports. Patch staff writer Benjamin Pierce detailed the statewide trend in a report picked up by the Reading edition this week, arriving as Reading's Housing Authority and the School Committ…
Residential tax rates climbed in 109 Massachusetts communities for fiscal 2026, according to a new Patch analysis. The report, "Here Are The Highest, Lowest Property Tax Bills In MA," per Watertown Patch, ranks the state's highest and lowest bills and gives area homeowners a benchmark a…
Massachusetts residential tax rates climbed in 109 communities for fiscal year 2026, a new Patch report shows. The report, headlined "Here Are The Highest, Lowest Property Tax Bills In MA," did not break out Brockton's own rate but places the city among the hundreds of Massachusetts com…
Canton residents got a statewide comparison point on their tax bills as Patch reported FY2026 rate increases across Massachusetts. Canton Patch circulated the report Friday, August 21, 2026, under the headline "Here Are The Highest, Lowest Property Tax Bills In MA," noting that resident…
Property tax bills in Chelmsford draw scrutiny as residential rates climbed in 109 Massachusetts communities for fiscal 2026, per Chelmsford Patch. The outlet's roundup, "Here Are The Highest, Lowest Property Tax Bills In MA," compares how Chelmsford's rates measure up against communiti…
Massachusetts residential tax rates climbed in 109 communities for fiscal year 2026, a new statewide comparison shows, according to a Norton Patch report headlined "Here Are The Highest, Lowest Property Tax Bills In MA." The report did not break out Norton's own rate among the towns sur…
Milton Patch highlighted statewide data this week showing property tax bills rising across Massachusetts heading into fiscal year 2026. According to the outlet's report, "Here Are The Highest, Lowest Property Tax Bills In MA," residential tax rates increased in 109 Massachusetts communi…
Residential tax rates rose in 109 Massachusetts communities for fiscal 2026, per a new Patch report on tax bills statewide. The analysis, titled "Here Are The Highest, Lowest Property Tax Bills In MA" and published Friday, ranks towns including Waltham on how much homeowners now owe com…
Property tax bills climbed in 109 Massachusetts communities for fiscal year 2026, Reading Patch reports. Patch staff writer Benjamin Pierce detailed the statewide trend in a report picked up by the Reading edition this week, arriving as Reading's Housing Authority and the School Committ…
Massachusetts residential property tax rates rose in 109 communities for fiscal 2026, a statewide trend that reaches Walpole homeowners too. Walpole Patch's roundup, "Here Are The Highest, Lowest Property Tax Bills In MA," highlights how widespread the fiscal 2026 rate increases are acr…
Residential property tax rates climbed in 109 Massachusetts communities for fiscal 2026, according to a new Patch report. The outlet's "Here Are The Highest, Lowest Property Tax Bills In MA" roundup, sent to Needham Patch subscribers Aug. 21, did not break out Needham-specific figures, …
Massachusetts residential tax rates climbed in 109 communities for fiscal year 2026, a new statewide comparison shows, according to a Norton Patch report headlined "Here Are The Highest, Lowest Property Tax Bills In MA." The report did not break out Norton's own rate among the towns sur…
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