Hubbardston Select Board Faces $202,777 Budget Shortfall Ahead of June Town Meeting

HUBBARDSTON — May 4, 2026 — Hubbardston Select Board confronts $202,777 budget gap with Town Meeting set for June 1. Interim Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald told the board Monday that the town's draft FY27 budget stands at $12,367,933 and remains out of balance after a zero-based budgeting process that added more than 450 new line items. Fitzgerald said he will make the remaining reductions before the warrant is finalized, with the board setting tentative special meeting dates of May 11, 12, or 15 to close and approve the warrant in time for a May 18 mailing deadline. Quabbin Regional School District Superintendent Colleen Mucha presented a budget with a 4.23 percent district-wide increase, but Hubbardston's assessment rises 4.9 percent; Fitzgerald asked Mucha to work toward reducing that to roughly 4 percent, noting the town is already spending $2.2 million above its state-required net school spending of $4.6 million. The board voted unanimously to require Select Board approval of any interest-waiver recommendations from the town treasurer under a new warrant article, and approved Lions Club bandstand repairs 3-0 with one abstention.