Joint Select Board and Finance Committee FY27 Budget and Ambulance Funding - April 7, 2026

On April 7, 2026, the Great Barrington Select Board and Finance Committee held a joint meeting to review the Town Manager's adjusted FY27 general fund operating and capital budget recommendations, free cash allocations, special articles, the Southern Berkshire Ambulance funding request, and the wastewater enterprise capital plan. No written agenda or minutes were provided in the source material. The boards did not take final votes; they continued deliberations and scheduled a public hearing for the next day at 5:00 p.m.

Town Manager's FY27 Operating Budget Recommendations

• The Town Manager presented a revised recommended general fund operating budget of $16,354,835, a negative difference of 5.78% from FY26, while preserving a 2% COLA for all union and non-union employees, retaining staff, avoiding layoffs or building closures, and instituting a hiring freeze.
• The Town Manager said she achieved approximately $1.6 million in operating cost reductions. The budget also relies on $2 million from a ballot question and $2 million from free cash.
• Snow and ice costs were estimated at $300,000 to $325,000 above the $150,000 regular operating line item.
• Department-by-department recommendations included centralizing purchasing, travel and training, and dues/memberships into the Town Manager's office; reducing the reserve fund from $200,000 to $125,000; temporarily splitting the assistant accountant position into a part-time accountant arrangement and a clerical line; reducing IT and telephone/data service costs; pausing funding for the deputy police chief position; removing the dedicated parking control officer position; reducing police training and events lines; adding an $8,000 vehicle supplies line for the Fire Department; retaining all DPW union positions; pausing the transfer station automated kiosk project; using a contracted health inspection service for 15 to 18 hours per week; and shifting Housatonic Water Works legal fees, VFW/American Legion leases, lifeguards, skate park monitoring, and other discretionary items into special articles.

Free Cash and Special Articles

• Certified free cash was reported at $11,248,266. The first obligation was the cannabis settlement, leaving a remaining balance of $6,119,257.56.
• Additional obligations included approximately $52,000 in unpaid prior-year bills, a $1,000,000 placeholder for a procurement audit obligation, a $414,676 Southern Berkshire Ambulance assessment, $40,000 for unemployment, approximately $150,000 for vocational school assessments, and $140,000 for collective bargaining.
• The Town Manager warned that the procurement audit obligation could approach $1 million because auditors have already identified more than $800,000 on one DPW project, involving contracts and change orders signed by staff rather than the Town Manager.
• After those obligations, the Town Manager set aside $75,000 for Housatonic Water Works legal costs, $30,000 and $23,000 for VFW and American Legion leases, funding for lifeguards and the skate park monitor, and $100,000 for a co-responder program.
• The boards had previously directed $2 million from free cash to offset the FY27 operating budget. After that, two citizen petition articles were noted: $490,000 for Southern Berkshire Ambulance vehicles and $75,000 for residential tax exemption implementation, leaving a remaining free cash balance of $1,435,075.11.
• If the citizen petition articles fail, approximately $565,000 would become available for other capital or enhancement items.

Capital Improvement Plan

• Recommended capital projects that are independent of free cash included a five-location crosswalk installation/replacement project funded through Chapter 90 funds, a Brush Hill Road culvert grant project of $777,500, and $410,000 in Chapter 90 road improvements.
• The Town Manager recommended $135,450 for water infiltration testing at Town Hall, Mason Library, and the Fire Station, funded through capital stabilization.
• Engineering recommendations included $550,000 for the South Main Street TIP project and the Park Street TIP project, funded through capital stabilization and Chapter 90 funds.
• A $22,000 Pearl Street drainage enclosure project was recommended only if petition articles fail.
• Several board and committee members raised concerns about the Shaw Bridge and the Division Street sinkhole. The Town Manager said Shaw Bridge rehabilitation was not included in the FY27 free cash capital recommendations, but state funding opportunities were being pursued.

Southern Berkshire Ambulance Funding Discussion

• Southern Berkshire Ambulance representatives requested a $414,676 operating assessment and presented a citizen petition article seeking $490,000 to help pay for two ambulances already on order, each costing roughly $500,000. An alternative multi-year capital payment proposal totaling about $462,000 was also discussed.
• The representatives said the service is fully staffed for the first time in years, operates three ambulances during the day and two at night, and has reduced overtime costs. They projected ambulance revenue down from about $1.7 million to $1.5 million due to 10% reductions in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, with roughly 60% of their budget consisting of insurance costs.
• They noted donations increased 400% in the second half of the year, Stockbridge approved $50,000, and a major donor contributed $25,000. They warned that if revenues fall short, service levels could drop to two ambulances during some days and one ambulance on some nights.
• Several Select Board and Finance Committee members said annual increases of 30% to 40% were unsustainable, that Great Barrington was bearing a disproportionate share of the cost, and that this was an extremely difficult budget year. Some members suggested the capital request should be handled through free cash or a citizen petition rather than added to operating costs.
• Ambulance representatives emphasized that the service faces a structural funding deficit, not a management deficit, and expressed openness to multi-year contract negotiations with the Town Manager. They also said the citizen petition could be withdrawn by the petitioner at Town Meeting if a different funding approach was agreed to.

Wastewater Enterprise Capital Plan

• Wastewater capital projects would be funded from retained earnings and user fees, not free cash or tax levy funds.
• Recommended projects included $100,000 for sewer infrastructure work, $145,000 for a sludge loadout upgrade, a $30,000 placeholder for year six of a Clean Water State Revolving Fund project, and $160,000 for phase one of inflow and infiltration design work, with phase two estimated at $838,000 in FY28.

Ballot Question Discussion

• The Town Manager reviewed three ballot options: a Proposition 2½ override, a debt exclusion, or placing both on the ballot.
• She warned that if the ballot question fails, the town would have to eliminate discretionary services, free-cash-funded capital projects, service enhancements, and the $414,676 ambulance special article, leaving only about $171,000 in free cash.
• A speaker, Aileen, asked how voters would be expected to vote if petition articles fail; the Town Manager clarified that special articles would be contingent on the ballot question passing and that the warrant language would be written accordingly.

Key Outcomes

• No formal votes were taken on the FY27 budget, the ballot question, special articles, or the ambulance requests.
• A public hearing was scheduled for the next day at 5:00 p.m., with budget discussions to continue afterward.
• The Town Manager said corrected capital slides would be posted online after updating the water infiltration testing cost to $135,450.
• The joint meeting adjourned by unanimous consent.