Carver Finance Committee approves $54.5 million FY27 budget after last-minute Old Colony shortfall

CARVER — March 9, 2026 — Carver Finance Committee votes 4-1 to recommend a revised $54,517,039 FY27 general fund budget after a last-minute Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical School assessment arrived $474,166 higher than projected. Finance Director Karen told the committee she had based her earlier estimate of $1,229,306 on a prior document that omitted local contributions and transportation equipment, with the actual assessment coming in at $1,703,472. To close the gap without cutting departmental budgets, the committee accepted Town Administrator Glenn's proposal to raise the projected new-growth tax revenue estimate from $1.1 million to $1.6 million, supported by property inspections conducted by newly hired data collector John Costello. The committee also voted 5-0 to recommend a $650,000 North Carver Water District budget — less than half the district's own $1,330,152 request — with the town administrator citing $450,000 in unvetted capital projects in the district's ask. Three articles, including a roughly $4 million health insurance deficit funding package tied to the Gateway group and a $1.5 million capital borrowing authorization, were tabled to a follow-up meeting set for March 16.