Charlton Finance Committee Approves FY26 Budget Framework with 6.3 Percent Increase

CHARLTON — March 26, 2025 — Charlton Finance Committee reviews a balanced FY26 municipal budget carrying a 6.3 percent overall increase and hears Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School's $30.3 million district assessment. Bay Path Superintendent Kyle Brenner told the committee that Charlton's total FY26 assessment is $2,549,993 — up $71,653, or 2.89 percent — driven partly by a $345,176 districtwide increase in transportation costs tied to depleted regional reimbursement reserves, partially offset by a $260,531 district draw from excess and deficiency funds. The FY26 municipal budget adds an administrative sergeant and emergency telecommunicator in the police department, an EMS officer in fire, and a part-time building inspector, while leaving a library position and deputy EMD role unfunded. The committee resolved a discrepancy in the Old Home Day line item, directing $8,000 to the event committee and $2,000 to the police department for details, reaching the $10,000 total members said they had agreed to at a prior meeting. The town administrator also disclosed roughly $453,000 in uncollected ambulance receivables now being reviewed by billing servicer Comstar, and confirmed Charlton held its AA-plus S&P bond rating ahead of a substation bond issuance. Brenner urged committee members to submit public comment on a proposed state regulation that would replace Bay Path's selective vocational admissions with a weighted lottery, with the State Board of Education scheduled to take up the matter in April.