By Dakota Antelman — [email protected]
Linda Nieman filled a table with reflective vests, hats, and a helmet for a bike safety presentation at the Concord Free Public Library. As a few guests filed in, she lamented a budget cut that could hit the institution.
“I feel like the library is the hub and heart of the community,” Nieman told The Concord Bridge, “so it’s really sad when it has to be cut back.”
That same evening, town staff faced tough questions from Finance Committee members who seek even deeper cuts to overall spending.
Budget writers are, for the second straight year, proposing cutting Sunday hours at the library.
The $44,000 reduction on nearly $50 million in expected 2027 fiscal year town spending is the tip of the iceberg, and officials would need to slash more to meet a stringent FinCom recommendation.
While some items are on the chopping block, leaders are trying to add positions elsewhere.
Not everyone’s on board — and some are examining fiscal ’26 recommendations that never came to pass.
Making (percentage) points
Finance staff thought they could trim departments’ wish lists for a fiscal ’27 budget increase between 3% and 3.5%.
The Finance Committee recommended just a 2.5% bump.
FinCom’s guidelines aren’t binding, and members could adjust their threshold in the coming weeks. For now, Select Board Chair Mark Howell told The Bridge that a 2.5% limit “is likely to drive reductions in services,” and he hopes FinCom will budge on the budget.
Town Manager Kerry Lafleur’s current plan would be a 3.2% increase. It includes a 1.2% cost-of-living adjustment for non-union staffers, a new deputy police chief, and a new IT position. She’s conceding that she probably won’t get two other new positions, and officials already opted against filling one Town House vacancy.
Beyond the library, Lafleur’s plan cuts $215,000 from police and fire overtime budgets.
Assistant Chief Financial Officer Ryan Ferrara said the non-union pay scale “hasn’t been updated in a while.” Howell told The Bridge that he’s glad employees are in line for a boost, but the raise won’t keep up with inflation.
PILOT process
Select Board member Wendy Rovelli raised the town’s much-discussed and long-delayed payment-in-lieu-of-tax (PILOT) initiative during the board’s November 17 meeting.
She’s hoping to avoid a library cutback, telling The Bridge, “We ought to be able to find $44,000.”
PILOT deals are voluntary contributions from tax-exempt non-profits. Without naming names, Rovelli referenced Concord Academy and its library relationship.
“There is an institution right across the way that uses the library quite a bit,” she said. “We should really be talking to them.”
Lafleur told The Bridge that she hopes to pick up the process in the new year.
Taxes, by the numbers
Among area towns, Concord has some of the highest tax bills.
“We get really good services,” said former Board of Assessors Chair David Karr, “and we pay for it.”
Karr said he sees his mother’s bill on a Great Barrington house “not much smaller” than his Concord home, and it’s “much lower.”
A recent consultant report said Concord’s average single-family tax bills had risen roughly 45% since fiscal ’16 and were the fifth-highest in the state as of this past spring.
The residential tax exemption provides some relief for the average qualifying homeowner, but even the reduced bill of $19,027 topped the averages in six of the seven towns that surround Concord last year. In addition to Lincoln, Lexington also had a higher average tax bill than Concord, according to the state Department of Revenue.
The Finance Committee will weigh in on this year’s Concord budgets again on December 11 when it is scheduled to adopt final spending guidelines. Lafleur has asked to meet with the Select Board to help with hard budget decisions, especially if FinCom holds to its stringent preliminary figure.
Town Meeting voters will get the final say over the budget in April.
— Dakota Antelman
How Concord taxes stack up
| Town | Average FY25 single-family tax bill |
| Lincoln | $20,462 |
| Lexington | $19,306 |
| Concord | $19,027 (RTE qualifying homeowners) $20,938 (Non-RTE qualifying homeowners) |
| Wayland | $17,854 |
| Carlisle | $16,738 |
| Sudbury | $16,343 |
| Acton | $14,918 |
| Bedford | $11,876 |
| Maynard | $9,687 |
| STATE AVERAGE | $7,730 |
IT specialist
At FinCom on November 20, panelist John Garofalo pressed Ferrara on the proposed IT job.
Ferrara said it could help with software conversions. One big payroll changeover is complete, so Garofalo asked which other projects the staffer could support. Ferrara said he’d have to circle back.
“That’s pretty concerning that you’re asking us for $145,000 without any set responsibilities,” Garofalo said.
Ferrara interjected, “There will be responsibilities.”
Since-fired Chief Financial Officer Anthony Ansaldi recommended during fiscal ’26 budget talks that the town restrict the use of “take-home cars” and cull the number of town payment cards that employees use to buy certain products.
Lafleur told The Bridge that officials looked into the cars and found some staffers were offered a town vehicle as a condition of their employment.
“It’s not off the table,” she said, “but there are other things that seem to be higher priority to look at.”
As for town cars, Lafleur said Ansaldi had a “significant problem” in another community. She said Concord has restrictions in place, and “I’ve never had any concern of misuse.”
Garofalo recalled Ansaldi’s suggestions during FinCom’s latest meeting. Ferrara discussed current practices but had no updates about any policy changes.
“You called it out. We didn’t call it out. Tell us what you have done,” Garofalo told The Bridge, summarizing his questioning. “The answer is nothing.”
