Lakeville Select Board Advances Dual-Track FY27 Budget Before May Override Vote

Select Board · Meeting of April 14, 2026

Lakeville Select Board and Finance Committee reviewed a two-track fiscal year 2027 budget Tuesday, with a $2.6 million Proposition 2½ override on the May 19 special election ballot determining which version takes effect. Town Administrator Andrew Silvia and Finance Director Michael Ellis presented an override budget — designated 1A — that holds municipal services level while shifting the town planner and principal assessor to part-time, and a non-override budget — 1B — that eliminates the town planner entirely, cuts education assessments by $1.475 million affecting roughly 56 regional school positions, and drops cost-of-living raises for all town employees. HR Director Lacey Marshall explained a $400,000 health insurance increase driven by a prior $1.4 million pool deficit and a mandatory 3 percent per-member buy-in as the town moves to Mayflower Municipal Health Group on July 1.

The board also voted 5-0 to approve a $36,650.74 fire station change order for under-slab rigid insulation required to meet the town's adopted stretch energy code, a design element Silvia acknowledged should have been in the original plans. New growth is projected at just $140,000 — the second lowest in 25 years — and Lakeville's last override, also for the schools, was approved in 2013 at $1.5 million.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of April 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.