Amid dueling complaints, latest budget proposal advances to Town Meeting

Depending on whom you ask, this year’s town budget goes too far — or not far enough — in trimming spending in the name of slower tax hikes. 

Some say it’s on the mark.

Town Manager Kerry Lafleur said the 2026 fiscal year will be “particularly challenging” as she previewed the plan to the Finance Committee.

While some praise the reductions, others say they insufficiently trim expenses. Still others worry the cuts sacrifice Acton’s values.

Lafleur said staffers “recognize and respect the need to balance all spending … against the financial burden placed upon our taxpayers.”

FinCom member John Garofalo, a frequent critic of current budgeting, bristled last month before Lafleur set the record straight on an errant revenue projection that raised fears of an extra tax hike. 

“I just don’t know how much rope we give until town administration, the Select Board, [and] people we hire start to get the message,” he said.

Wide-ranging cuts

Tough spending talk ramped up as FinCom set its recommendations for 2026 budget increases. Members reached a compromise but urged budget compilers to find efficiencies as tax rates and the cost of living rise. 

Officials said FinCom’s guideline would require service cuts and considered slashing hours at the Acton Free Public Library. After an outcry, the town backed off and moved to lay off sustainability director Eric Simms effective July 1.

Lafleur noted plans to eliminate Acton’s seasonal ranger program, which has helped provide education and monitor town conservation lands. She also expects the fire department will sometimes have to lower minimum staffing when firefighters have time off and the town can’t pay for coverage. 

Lafleur said departments will have 4.74 fewer full-time equivalent positions next fiscal year. Besides the sustainability director, other cuts target a vacant position and spots left empty after voluntary reassignments. 

Even where there aren’t cuts, Select Board chair Mary Hartman said, the town will feel pressure. 

The Planning Division is eyeing rezoning around MCI-Acton and other vacant properties. At next month’s Town Meeting, voters will consider parking changes, and Hartman said the town may make more updates in the future.

“We’ve got quite a bit of work that we’re asking our planning department to do level-funded,” Hartman said.  

Sustainability concerns

In letters to the editor of The Acton Bridge, readers have called the sustainability cut “shortsighted” and urged officials to change course. At FinCom’s April 15 public hearing, resident Marjorie Daggett asked for more specifics about how the town will adjust. 

Lafleur said Acton is still committed to sustainability and will spend part of the next fiscal year updating the town’s climate action plan. Lafleur said an energy audit could also net efficiency upgrades.

Deputy Town Manager Megan Zammuto and other staff will shoulder sustainability work. Eight years after voters created the sustainability job at Town Meeting, Lafleur said sustainability efforts now spread across every department.

“I hope this is the right move,” she said. “I think it’s the right move.” 

Ranger reduction

Lafleur said officials focused on “back of the house” departments as they trimmed their budget.

People who use public lands may still notice the missing ranger program.

In 2025, the $39,875 line item covered one position. As she faced a cut, natural resources director Delia Kaye told attendees at a March 4 conservation and coffee event that it would be hard to supplement with volunteer staff. Lafleur confirmed the reduction April 15. 

In an email, Zammuto said the town “temporarily discontinued” the program. Among other measures, she said police will run directed patrols around conservation areas “for the time being.” 

Late confusion

Lafleur said this year’s tax increase to the existing base should be roughly in line with the estimated 3.98% that FinCom expected when it set its budget guideline. 

As other FinCom members recommended a “yes” vote at Town Meeting, Garofalo opposed the budget. He told The Bridge some concerns from late April remained despite Lafleur’s effort to clarify late revenue questions. 

For one thing, Garofalo last month said the 4.74 FTE reduction is “misleading” and accused staff of using “smoke and mirrors” to inflate the cut. 

Town Meeting is set to begin June 2. Voters would have to approve town and school budgets before they take effect.