Shutesbury Finance Committee Approves School HVAC Transfer, Trims Health Insurance Budget

Finance Committee · Meeting of March 3, 2026

Shutesbury Finance Committee approved an $8,206.55 emergency reserve transfer for school HVAC repairs and revised its FY27 budget draft to project a $490 average single-family tax bill increase. The committee incorporated a new health insurance premium figure of $808,068 — an 8.76 percent increase, well below the 20 percent originally anticipated — and reduced the cash-reserve draw for that line from $50,000 to $25,000. Chair AJ said pushing ahead with a budget that residents would not support "would be a mistake." A second wave of employee salary market alignments covering six positions was deferred after members found that hours and pay-rate data in the personnel board's spreadsheet did not reconcile with current budget figures; the town collector was the sole exception, receiving a four-hour weekly increase to 19 hours at a cost of approximately $6,593.

The Finance Committee reserve fund now stands at $52,984, and the committee must finalize and vote on a budget by March 24 ahead of a March 31 Select Board warrant meeting.

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Source: the Finance Committee meeting of March 3, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.