FY 2026 Town Finances on Target. No Decision on Replacement of Middle School Auditorium Roof

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Finance Committee, January 20, 2026

This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded.

Present
Jill Brevik and Cathy Schoen (District 1), Lynn Griesemer (District 2), Sam MacLeod and Ana Devlin Gauthier (District 5), Tom Porter (nonvoting resident member). Absent: Joseph Jayne (nonvoting resident member).

Staff: Sean Mangano (Finance Director) and Athena O’Keeffe (Council Clerk)

Schoen to Continue as Finance Committee Chair
Cathy Schoen was unanimously elected to continue as chair of the Finance Committee. Lynn Griesemer was elected as vice-chair by a 3-2 vote over Jill Brevik (Schoen, Griesemer, and Ana Devlin Gauthier supported Griesemer, as did nonvoting member Tom Porter)

The Finance Committee will meet over Zoom at 1 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of every month. At the suggestion of Devlin Gauthier, the committee will consider meeting with department heads about their FY27 budgets earlier in the spring instead of in May, which will leave more opportunity to suggest changes, rather than merely rubber-stamping the budgets put forth by the departments and the Town Manager.

Budget Guidelines Reviewed
Based on the projections of revenue and expenses from the Finance Department, the last Town Council approved budget guidelines limiting the budget increase for each department in FY27 to 3.5% over FY26 levels. This would amount to about $2.7 million. The Finance Committee will revisit the guidelines once more is known about state aid and the increase in health insurance costs, now estimated at 18%. 

Finance Director Sean Mangano said that the Finance Committee had asked departments to share what it would look like if every department developed a level services budget, instead of one that met the budget guidelines for a 3.5% increase. That way, the shortfalls would be more apparent.

Schoen listed some of the highlights of the budget guidelines for FY27: no operating budget override, no new initiatives that require funds, prioritize fire and EMS staffing if additional revenue is available, and do not include the additional $500,000 from free cash allocated to the elementary schools in the base for the FY27 budget. However, the committee said that they would discuss the elementary school allocation further when more was known about the costs of moving the 6^th grade to the middle school next year and the savings from consolidating the three schools into two K through 5 schools. 

The budget guidelines specify a capital budget of between 10 to 10.5% and that the town will continue to pay into OPEB (Other Post-employment Benefits for retired employees).

Use of FY25 Budget Surplus to Be Discussed in February
Mangano said the unspent funds (free cash) from FY25 have been certified by the Comptroller. Town Manager Paul Bockelman is working on a plan for utilizing those funds and will bring it to the Town Council on either February 2 or 23. That plan will be referred to the Finance Committee for evaluation and recommendations to the council.

Should Amherst Pay to Replace the Roof over the Middle School Auditorium?
The Finance Committee requested more information from the regional schools before deciding whether to use free cash to replace the middle school roof over the auditorium, since the roof over the rest of the building will be replaced over the summer. The auditorium roof is leaking badly, with tiles falling down. Griesemer called it “scary”, and Brevik recalled her children participating in the Amherst Community Theater production of The Lion King while buckets were placed around the auditorium to catch the rainwater leaking in. 

The schools received a grant from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to replace most of the middle-school roof, but the auditorium roof did not qualify because it was a year or two short of the 25-year requirement. 

The Regional School Committee failed to reach an agreement on asking the towns to contribute the additional $1.6 million needed to include the auditorium roof. The three smaller towns stated that their budgets were already stretched and that their Finance Committees would surely not approve additional funds for the auditorium roof.  Also, they would need to call special town meetings to put the issue before the voters in time to allow bidding and ordering materials, because the regular spring town meetings in April and May are too late to complete the project over the summer. 

Schoen and Mangano disagreed on whether Amherst should cover the entire cost of the auditorium roof, which would add $400,000 to the total needed if all four towns contributed their share. Schoen reasoned that the contractors and equipment would be on site anyway, and the roof badly needed replacement.

Mangano noted that the middle school belongs to the regional school district, not the town. He felt that the region should apply to the MSBA again when the roof was old enough to qualify for the replacement grant. He said that not using the MSBA grant would double the town’s cost.

Schoen countered that Amherst had contributed free cash to the region in the past for the track and field renovation. She also noted that the original bid for the rest of the roof five years ago was $3 million, which rose to $11 million in the time it took to be approved for the MSBA grant, and she expected that further delay to allow for a second application would result in a similar cost increase. 

Mangano maintained that the track and field is used freely by Amherst residents, but the town pays the regional schools for use of the middle school pool, gym, and auditorium, so the school is not a town resource. Schoen recommended that if Amherst covered the whole cost of the auditorium roof, a Memorandum of Understanding could be signed between the regional school district and the town.

Brevik encouraged the committee to consider the ongoing maintenance costs of addressing the leaks and broken ceiling tiles, as well as the health hazards posed by potential mold growth. 

Sam MacLeod asked how much worse the roof would get if the repair was delayed. Devlin Gauthier wanted a comparison of the cost of continuing to make stop-gap repairs and the cost of replacing the roof. The Finance Committee asked that the regional school district staff provide this information by the February 3 meeting. 

Second Quarter Revenue and Expenses Pretty Much on Target
Mangano reported on the town’s revenue and expenses for the first half of FY26. Both revenue and expenses are close to budget, and tax and fee collections are running 51% ahead of budget. Interest income is 50% above budget ($754,000 vs. $500,000), but income from the transportation enterprise fund is down. He said he has concerns about the level of state aid and the revenue for future growth. Hotel and motel revenue also exceeded projections.

In terms of expenses, some columns are running below expectations due to vacant positions. The Finance Director position was not filled for several months in FY25 because it was an accounting role. Mangano also cautioned that two of the collective bargaining agreements for town staff remain incomplete, and the large capital projects now underway or planned for the near future will reduce interest income and increase debt service. The council has also requested a multi-year plan to deal with roads and sidewalks. 

Overall, Mangano said that “revenues are a little lower and expenses a little higher than last year, but this is not of great concern.” Looking forward, he said the Finance Department has asked town departments to each identify reductions of up to 10% of their current budget. “Even last year, while it was a difficult year, I think this year could be worse,” he said, citing the projected 18% increase in health insurance premiums, the uncertainty around state aid, and the fact that both school departments (elementary and regional) are looking at large reductions in staff.  He added, “We’ve framed this, Paul [Bockelman] sets the tone, that this is an opportunity to think creatively about the way we deliver services and possibly identify less expensive ways to provide equivalent service. We’ve been very clear to the departments to tell us what the impacts will be. The council is going to need to know that as we make these decisions.”