Whately Finance Committee Backs $7.5 Million FY 2027 Budget, Up 7.44 Percent

WHATELY — May 11, 2026 — Whately Finance Committee recommends $7.5 million FY 2027 operating budget, a 7.44 percent increase over the current year. The committee voted unanimously Monday to forward the budget to town meeting, after two late-arriving costs — $56,759 in tuition and transportation for a student placed at Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School, and a restructured town accountant position expanded from 15 to 24 hours per week with benefits — pushed the increase from a prior projection of 5.44 percent. The budget, up from the current year's $6,989,000, is projected to raise the town's tax rate by $1.43 per thousand. The town administrator cautioned that while the town remains under its levy ceiling for FY 2027, "the budget's growing and the income is going down," and an override vote could be required within one to two years. The committee also recommended a new senior tax work-off program allowing up to five residents aged 60 and older to earn up to $1,200 in annual property tax reductions through clerical work, and deferred a $32,400 snow-and-ice deficit transfer pending confirmation from the police chief. Whately's town meeting is scheduled for June 2.