Billerica Select Board Unanimously Ratifies FY26 Budget at 3.24 Percent Increase

BILLERICA -- March 3, 2025, Billerica Select Board ratifies FY26 budget at 3.24 percent increase, with health insurance up $1.7 million as the top driver. Town Manager Clancy Main, presenting his first budget, held the town-side increase to roughly $806,000 while the school budget climbs $2.7 million and the Shawsheen Tech assessment rises $653,000; the board voted 5-0 to ratify. Main disclosed he deferred his own cost-of-living adjustment to keep the number down, drawing praise from Selectman Michael Rosa, who said "the time to tighten the belt is well before you get to a two-and-a-half override." The town retains approximately $23 million in excess levy capacity and a AA-plus bond rating after the budget. The board also received a town-wide school route safety study from consultants Justin Kerwitz and Madeline McDermott of Timmons Group, but Selectwoman Kimberly Conway pressed the consultants on their single-observation-day methodology and their failure to review police crash data, saying "it leaves me a little disappointed" given that a pedestrian was struck walking to school this year. The board separately approved $50,000 in community fund grants to 15 local organizations and recognized the Shawsheen Technical High School wrestling team for winning its first Division I state championship.