Maynard Finance Committee Approves $963,000 in Year-End Budget Transfers

MAYNARD -- August 4, 2024, Maynard's Finance Committee unanimously approved $963,000 in fiscal year 2025 year-end general fund budget transfers and braced for a leaner budget year ahead. The 6-0 vote, taken remotely on August 4 with member Nathaniel Dwyre absent, came hours before the Select Board was set to consider the same transfers on August 5; the final version shifted roughly $9,000 from solid waste to cemetery tree services. Member Peter Campbell flagged firefighter salaries as the most significant variance, at roughly $232,000 or about 20 percent over the budgeted figure, while Chair Jillian Prendergast warned that free cash for the next cycle could come in approximately $500,000 below historical norms. The committee also absorbed a $67 million mid-range estimate for a new DPW facility, far above the $23 million some members had expected, and noted that the state's final budget delivered $63,800 less than projected in Chapter 70 school aid, a gap that may require a special town meeting article in October.