Paxton Town Meeting Balances Budget, Override Vote Set for August 10

Town Meeting · Meeting of June 23, 2026

Paxton Town Meeting balances a $640,000 deficit and defers override vote to August 10. At the June 23 annual Town Meeting, a presenter identified as Scott walked voters through 25 years of Wachusett Regional School District budget data, noting the Paxton assessment rose just 2.19 percent this fiscal year — below the Finance Committee's 2.5 percent ceiling — and that the district reduced 12 positions while applying $2.6 million toward lowering member-town assessments. A second presenter detailed how the town's initial operating budget deficit was reduced to zero through a series of cuts including lowering the reserve fund from $50,000 to $30,000, trimming the legal budget to $30,000, cutting unemployment costs by $60,650, and reducing CW MARS library consortium costs by $5,000, with updated state cherry sheet receipts also contributing.

County retirement costs — grown from 1.2 percent to 6.1 percent of the total town budget over 25 years — were identified as the dominant structural budget pressure. Voters were told that a Proposition 2½ override ballot scheduled for August 10 would determine whether 24-7 police coverage, a DPW operating position, and other cut services are restored to fiscal year 2027 budgets.

In the full story:

• Convening of the Meeting and Voting Procedures
• Wachusett Regional School District Budget Presentation
• Town Operating Budget Presentation — Deficit Reduction to Zero
• Override Ballot — August 10 Vote
• Substantive content: The override package as described includes
• Who Was There
• The complete report — 1,898 words

Source: the Town Meeting meeting of June 23, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.