Arlington Residents Invited To Weigh In On FY28 Budget Spending

ARLINGTON, MA — Residents will have an opportunity next month to learn more about Arlington's municipal and school budgets and weigh in on spending plans for the coming years.

The town will host "One Town, One Budget: Municipal and School Spending in FY28 and Beyond" on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. in the Discourse Lab at Arlington High School on 869 Massachusetts Ave. The joint Town and School Budget Forum will be hosted by Town Manager Jim Feeney and Superintendent of Schools Elizabeth Homan in collaboration with the Select Board and School Committee.

The forum will focus on how the town and school budgets are developed and appropriated, including the major expenses and revenue sources that shape the annual spending plans. Town officials will also discuss Arlington's financial forecasting and the Long Range Plan used to guide budget decisions over multiple years.

The upcoming event comes months after Arlington voters approved a $14.8 million Proposition 2 1/2 tax override to fund the operating budgets of the town and public schools. The measure was approved during the March town election and went into effect for Fiscal Year 2027.

An override allows a community to surpass the 2.5 percent annual increase for taxes on residents and is done so to help supplement necessary infrastructure and services that the town's budget does not otherwise allow for. Town Manager Jim Feeney previously said the annual tax bill for an average single-family home would increase by approximately $1,030 with the override implemented.

The passage of the override also enabled the school district's budget to increase by four percent annually through Fiscal Year 2029. Arlington Public Schools received approximately $107.8 million as part of the Fiscal Year 2027 operating budget approved by Town Meeting in May, marking an increase of more than $4 million from the previous year.

The overall Fiscal Year 2027 operating budget totaled more than $247 million, approximately $15 million more than the previous year. During Town Meeting, Feeney also pointed to the override as the reason the town was able to make a deposit into its override stabilization fund, which is used to balance the town's budget in the long term.

The budget also came amid rising costs in several areas. Health insurance costs increased by 10.4 percent from the previous year, marking the third consecutive year in which those costs increased by double digits. Of the more than $4.1 million increase in the school budget, approximately $2.2 million went toward salary increases and another $1.9 million toward operational expenses.

The upcoming forum will turn the focus toward Fiscal Year 2028, which begins July 1, 2027, as well as Arlington's longer-term financial outlook. Residents will be able to ask questions about the budget process during the forum and can also submit questions online ahead of the event.

The forum will be held both in person and virtually. Residents planning to attend at Arlington High School can register online, while those participating remotely can register separately for the Zoom meeting.

See Also:

Arlington Man Gets Federal Prison Time In Drug Conspiracy

Safety Concerns Delay Arlington Park Playground Opening

Arlington Adds Accessible Parking At Popular Park

Arlington Center For The Arts Appoints New Leader

What To Expect At Arlington Town Day 2026