Arlington Finance Committee Hears FY27 Budget With Deficit Riding on March Override Vote

ARLINGTON -- January 28, 2026, Arlington Finance Committee reviews a $237.9 million FY27 budget contingent on a March 28 override vote. Town Manager Jim Lamkin and Deputy Town Manager Julie presented a budget carrying an 11.25 percent health insurance premium increase and police and fire salary budgets inflated more than 10 percent to settle union contracts that lapsed as far back as fiscal year 2021, with a $1.8 million salary reserve appropriation pending town meeting ratification. State aid is projected to grow only 2.09 percent overall, and a $6.2 million override stabilization fund will be fully drawn down in FY27, leaving a projected deficit of roughly $18 million in FY28 if the override fails. Lamkin described a two-phase failure scenario: FY27 cuts targeting community-facing services such as yard waste collection, tree planting, and weekend park crews, followed by significant workforce reductions across all departments in FY28. The committee approved the Transportation Advisory Committee's $8,800 appropriation, voted to zero out budget requests for commissions holding reserves exceeding their new requests pending those bodies appearing before the committee, and continued several commission budget reviews to its next meeting.