Duxbury Approves $4.8 Million Budget Increase Contingent on Override
Voters face March 22 ballot question after town meeting approves contingency budget to fund additional staffing and services
DUXBURY - March 8 - Duxbury's annual town meeting approves a $4.8 million increase to the FY2026 budget, contingent on voters passing a Proposition 2½ override at the March 22 election. The increase would fund additional staffing and services across multiple town departments.
After lengthy debate Saturday, Duxbury residents at the Annual Town Meeting vote to approve a $4,783,502 million contingency budget that would supplement the town's base operating budget if voters approve a Proposition 2½ override later this month.
The contingency budget passes by a vote of 618 to 224, following the earlier approval of the base $92.2 million operating budget for fiscal year 2026.
"This is going to be a different dance than we're used to," explains Finance Committee Chair Betsy Sullivan at the start of the meeting. "The first budget, 5A, is going to be a balanced budget. We need to have a balanced budget. The state makes sure that cities and towns have a balanced budget before they can set their tax rate."
The contingency budget, labeled Article 5B, includes funding for additional staffing and services across multiple departments, including police, fire, schools, and planning. The supplemental funding is contingent on voters approving a $5.8 million Proposition 2½ override at the ballot box on March 22.
Town Manager René Read explains that the contingency budget is designed to address both immediate needs and future planning.
"The objective of the Article 5B wasn't for level services because that's what we've been doing for the past few years," Read says. "What this is is a contingency budget to be able to bring us forward for at least the next five years."
Several department heads speak to the critical needs addressed in the contingency budget. Police Chief Mike Carbone explains that his department has operated with the same patrol staffing levels since 1976, despite significant population growth and increased call volume.
"Patrol, patrol, patrol. It all starts with patrol," Carbone says. "You don't have a police department without it, without the healthy complement of your patrol."
The contingency budget includes funding for two additional police officers, which would allow the department to expand from three patrol sectors to four.
Fire Chief Rob Reardon describes similar staffing challenges, noting that his department has added only one firefighter per shift since 1979, despite call volume tripling from 1,000 to over 3,000 annually.
"Last Saturday, we ran our first medical call," Reardon explains. "Remember, I told you we have six on duty. So that first medical call comes in, we send out a crew. Simultaneously, another medical call comes in. So now we're stretched as thin as we can be."
The contingency budget includes funding for four additional firefighter positions.
School Superintendent Danielle Klingaman addresses the school department's portion of the contingency budget, which includes funding for universal full-day kindergarten and market average teacher salaries.
"We are consistently looking at improvements and we've had a full curriculum review last year and we piloted programs," Klingaman says. "The only way the school department can replace our English language arts program is through this capital funding."
Several residents express concerns about the financial impact of the override on taxpayers, particularly seniors and those on fixed incomes.
"We are all in different stages of life with various assets and bank accounts," says Colleen Brayer of Tobey Garden Street. "We also don't know how many people in town have been affected or will be by the new federal layoffs, funding cuts, or tariffs, not to mention the inflation."
Another resident, Linda Sjoberg from Soule Avenue, notes that property taxes in her neighborhood have already increased significantly due to revaluation.
"In our neighborhood, Soule and Bryant Avenue, our taxes this year went up 73%, and that's because our property became revalued and doubled in value," she says. "So if your taxes did not go up 73%, you have something to look forward to."
Selectboard member Fernando Guitart emphasizes that the override is the fiscally responsible path forward.
"It is unequivocally the fiscally responsible path forward for two reasons," Guitart says. "First, Article 5B, the recommended increase in police, fire, facilities, planning, and recreation allows the town to provide services that meets the needs of modern day policing, improves the response time to emergencies, enables preventive maintenance practices. Second, the override on the ballot provides a sustainable five-year forecast."
The town meeting also approves several other articles, including the capital budget, small equipment and minor services, and multiple Community Preservation Committee projects.
The Proposition 2½ override question will appear on the ballot at the annual town election on Saturday, March 22. If approved, the $5.8 million override would permanently increase the town's levy limit, with $4.8 million allocated to the FY2026 budget and the remainder available for future years.
Contract with private EMS for medical calls .