Halifax Finance Committee Reviews $1.5 Million Override, Demands School Budget Data

HALIFAX — March 16, 2026 — Halifax Finance Committee reviews $1.5 million override case and presses for school budget transparency. The committee, meeting virtually on March 16, debriefed a three-hour joint budget session and confirmed the Select Board had voted to place a $1.5 million Proposition 2½ override on the Town Meeting warrant — enough to cover level-service costs for police, fire, schools, DPW, and senior services, at an estimated annual cost of $532 to the average Halifax homeowner based on a median assessed value of $532,178. Members scrutinized a Finance Committee-prepared override fact sheet citing major cost drivers including a 14.2 percent health insurance increase and a 28 percent stormwater management jump, and voiced sharp frustration that the Silver Lake Regional School District — representing 53 percent of the $31.3 million town budget — had arrived at the joint session without detailed figures despite months of requests. The committee also flagged a $300,000-to-$350,000 reduction in Halifax's Chapter 90 highway funding, a cut that arrives even as the state increased total Chapter 90 appropriations statewide from $200 million to $300 million. The committee voted unanimously to adjourn and will meet again virtually on March 23 to review warrant articles and a revised budget from the Town Administrator.