Mayor Vershawn Patterson Howard presented a working draft annual estimate that currently shows a potential 2.1% property tax increase; the draft also includes a separate $10,000,000 state-aid line and will be revised after input from the comptroller and council.

Assistant Town Manager/Director of Finance Ari Skye told the Select Board that FY26 closed slightly above revenue expectations and laid out three five‑year forecast scenarios showing tradeoffs between OPEB funding, capital capacity and bond‑rating risk. The board asked for actuals vs. budgets, peer comparisons and a debt schedule before setting formal guardrails.

The board approved final resolutions for the 2025-26 budget and initial resolutions for 2026-27 after a hearing that outlined a projected $711,646 deficit for 2025-26 and identified an expected $150,000 increase to open additional ASD special-education classes.

City's property tax value increases to 9.6B for fiscal year 2026, exceeding estimates.

Fiscal Court finalizes budget with 2.9% employee raise and no tax increase.

Forecast predicts health insurance premiums will rise by at least 10 percent this year.