Arlington Finance Committee Recommends $14.8 Million Override With Spending Cap Caveat

ARLINGTON -- February 18, 2026, Arlington's Finance Committee voted 11 to 4 Wednesday to recommend a $14.8 million Proposition 2½ override heading to voters on March 28. Chair Christine Deschamps told the committee the override would cost the average household an additional $1,030 per year and would close projected deficits of $2.7 million in FY27, $17.8 million in FY28, and $24.4 million in FY29, deficits the Select Board and school superintendent spent months reducing from an original FY27 gap of $13.5 million. The committee attached two qualifying motions, both passing 14 to 2 with one abstention: one, proposed by member Paul Baer, clarifying that the 4 percent school and 3.25 percent town budget growth figures are caps, not spending mandates; and a second, from member Charlie Foskett, requiring that increases in fixed non-departmental costs be offset by operating cuts. A procedural motion by member John Griffin to pause the vote pending formal clarification of the Select Board's commitments failed 7 to 10, with Griffin and Foskett among the dissenters arguing the override virtually guarantees a second, larger ask before FY30.