Belchertown Select Board adopts four financial policies in split votes
Select Board · Meeting of September 14, 2026
Belchertown's Select Board adopted four new financial policies in a joint tri-board meeting that also aired a dispute over school spending data. The board voted 4-0 with one abstention four times to approve an annual budget process, financial reserves, free cash and capital stabilization fund policy, raising the town's stabilization target to "4 to 7 percent" of its roughly $62 million budget. A Finance Committee analysis found Belchertown ranks eighth of eight comparison towns in per-pupil spending despite devoting "52.66 percent" of its budget to education; a school official countered the town should use state DESE figures instead of DLS data.
The board also debated, without resolving, how to split a $340,896 Cherry Sheet surplus between reserve accounts, with a roll-call vote showing members divided 2-2. Town Manager Steve said the money must be settled before an October 5 warrant deadline for the November 9 special town meeting.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 3,662 words
Source: the Select Board meeting of September 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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