Proposed Wayland Town Budget Features $4.7 Million Spending Boost

WAYLAND, MA — The town of Wayland will start 2020 with discussions about the town's fiscal 2021 budget. The new proposed budget is about $87 million, a 5.6 percent ($4.7 million) increase compared to the current fiscal year budget — an amount the town's Finance Committee feels might be too high.

Wayland's fiscal 2021 budget is balanced, which means that revenues match the amount expected to be spent. The town expects to collect about $73 million in taxes this year, a 6.6 percent increase over fiscal 2020.

Salaries account for more than half of the budget at close to $50 million. By department, the school system is the biggest part of the budget, with a proposed cost of about $43 million. The police and fire departments are the next two most expensive departments, costing $3.1 million and $3.3 million, respectively.

Here's a breakdown. The full proposed 2021 budget is on the town website.

• Total Fiscal 2021 Budget (proposed): $87,440,734
• Total Fiscal 2020 Budget (adopted): $82,652,404
• Total Fiscal 2021 Revenue (Proposed): $87,355,285
  • Taxation: $73,977,600
  • Local Revenue: $5,100,000
  • State Aid: $6,408,000
  • Transfers: $1,869,685

Fiscal year 2021 runs from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. The town's current fiscal 2020 budget expires on June 30.

The town Finance Committee will discuss the new budget at a meeting on Jan. 2 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 41 Cochituate Road. In a letter to Town Administrator Louise Miller and other officials, the Finance Committee suggested a budget increase of $2.7 million should be the goal rather than the proposed $4.7 million increase.