Cohasset Select Board and Advisory Committee Approve $851,547 in Budget Transfers
COHASSET - July 15 - The Cohasset Select Board and Advisory Committee have given the green light to $851,547 in budget transfers for the fiscal year 2025. The decision came during a joint meeting on July 15, 2025.
Town Manager Chris Senior walked the boards through the transfers, pointing out key items. These included $139,000 to cover school budget shortfalls and $70,548 for a sewer department bill from the previous fiscal year.
Senior explained the sewer bill situation: "They ended up paying for services from 2024 in the 2025 fiscal year. It should've been handled at town meeting, but it slipped through the cracks."
The biggest single transfer was $225,000 for police overtime. However, Senior expects this number to drop in the future, thanks to recent hires.
"The good news is that the three officers we hired last year are now fully trained and filling regular slots," Senior said. "We should see that number go down quite a bit for FY26."
Other notable transfers included:
- $61,243 for a school support officer, moved from the police budget to its own department
- $46,000 for accounting services in the town manager's budget
- $24,000 for an administrative swap and lease payment
The Advisory Committee raised an eyebrow at the recurring legal budget overruns. Committee member Diane Kennedy noted, "It seems like every year we're seeing a pretty big difference from what was actually budgeted."
Senior reassured the committee that the legal budget has been increased for fiscal year 2026.
Both the Select Board and Advisory Committee unanimously approved the transfers.
The meeting also touched on the need for more frequent school budget updates. Select Board Chair Ellen Maher suggested quarterly updates to a wider group, saying, "We're planning to discuss this with them next week and figure out the best way to make it happen."