Belchertown boards review $2 million free cash total

Select Board · Meeting of October 26, 2026

Belchertown's Select Board, School Committee and Finance Committee held a joint budget session reviewing a $2,011,463 free cash certification, up from $1,418,350 the year before. Town Accountant and Finance Director Jill Rossi walked the boards through fiscal 2027 fixed costs and preliminary fiscal 2028 revenue projections, noting the town's OPEB liability stands at $50 million and that Chapter 70 school aid came in $168,470 above estimate at $15,052,600. One member said she was "not comfortable with how we voted in the last tribe board meeting in light of these new numbers," pointing to unexplained swings in investment income and motor vehicle excise revenue.

Finance Committee Chair Brian Gibbons presented data showing Belchertown has the largest total budget, about $55 million, among comparably sized Massachusetts communities, while ranking near the bottom in per-category spending alongside strong student outcomes. The board also recapped a previously approved $340,896 surplus allocation, including $189,896 to the Stabilization Fund, and heard an economic development update from planner Eric Weiss. No new spending votes were taken.

In the full story:

• Introductions and meeting framework
• Budget preparation timeline and fixed costs (Jill Rossi)
• Fiscal 2028 revenue projections and free cash distribution
• Review of surplus fiscal 2027 cherry sheet funding vote
• Comparative spending analysis (Brian Gibbons, Finance Committee)
• Economic development overview (Eric Weiss)
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,726 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of October 26, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.