FinCom Proposes Approximately $700,000 Above Town Manager's Recommended Budget

At this point, an override vote coming to Town Meeting appears to be unlikely.

  The debate on the town budget continued on Monday, with the Finance Commitee voting 5-2 to recommend appropriating approximately $700,000 of the roughly $1 million requested by town departments above the Town Manager's recommended Fiscal Year 2014 budget, with most of that amount allocated to unexpected special education funding and new proposed positions in the School Department's budget.  They also aimed to do this not through an override, but through various methods such as reducing some department budgets, using funding from capital reserves, modifying revenue projections. However, Finance Committee chairman Mike Princi told Patch that an override may remain as a possibility for longer term budgetary issues, such as the looming multi…

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FinCom, School Committee, BOS Discuss Possible Override in Spring

There was no resolution on Thursday night, but it appears that a Prop 2 1/2 override could occur in Westford this spring.

  Westford voters will face difficult budget decisions this spring, and perhaps some of the most difficult decisions were on the docket were on the Finance Committee’s plate on Thursday night. Superintendent Bill Olsen and the Westford School Committee was on hand to present a proposed Fiscal Year 2014 department budget of $49,775,689 for the inspection of the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee, a number that grew approximately $400,000 in the past few weeks due largely to the addition of a new special education student that recently moved into the district. The figure presented an increase of 4.59 percent, which Olsen informed the boards was near the average statewide increase of 4.25 percent and included teacher salaries that were…

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Patrick Henry

4:53 pm on Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Another 47% heard from. How about the old members of the community busting their backs at minimum pay to pay taxes so the so called autism children can be coddled. BTW A recent change to the description of qualifying symptoms for a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder will remove 70% of the diagnosed individuals from the pool of SPED.   more ›

Selectmen, Finance Committee Hear Concerns from Schools

The Westford Public Schools and Nashoba Valley Technical High School District present overviews of their budgets.

With the 2012 Town Meeting approaching in March, the Finance Committee joined the Board of Selectmen Thursday to take a look at the largest portion of the town budget - school funding. Coming near the end of a multi-week process where the town’s various departments’ budgets were presented to the two committees, the Thursday meeting was split between a look at Westford’s payments to the Nashoba Valley Technical High School District and the Westford Public School District budget. Currently, the town is expected to request from residents a total appropriation of $47,741,283 toward the public schools and $708,970 toward Nashoba Valley Tech dues for the Fiscal Year 2013 budget to be voted upon at Town Meeting in March. For Nashoba Valley Tech, …

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Superagenda

Westford Voted Against The Constitution in 1788?

Welcome to the Superagenda

Welcome to the Superagenda, your daily digest of local politics and government here in Westford.  If you have any local political or governmental news you’d like to share, please e-mail the editor at andrew.sylvia@patch.com #1. Today in Westford and the Merrimack Valley: The Westford Finance Committee adjourns tonight for a 7:00 meeting at Town Hall. #2. Today on Beacon Hill:  The House has an informal session today at 11:00 a.m in their chambers. #3. Local Law of the Day: In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, you can’t elope or trick someone under 16 into marrying you without consent of that person’s parents, with the maximum penalty for doing so being a year in jail and/or a $1000 fine. #4. Local Political History:  Today’s moment in …

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Superagenda

All Government Flags in Westford Will Be At Half Mast for Fallen Cape Cod Soldier Today

The announcement and a Finance Committee meeting are the only items of note on today's Suepragenda.

There’s only one municipal meeting on the agenda tonight, but be aware that all flags on government property will be at half mast today in honor of Army Sgt. Matthew Gallagher, whose funeral is today in North Falmouth. Finance Committee The Westford Finance Committee meets today for a light 7:00 p.m meeting at Town Hall. Most of the meeting will be focused on Reserve Fund transfer requests and a demonstration on how IPads will be used for Finance Committee use from here on. 

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