Concord property owners can expect a smaller tax increase this fall than the 1.96% figure officials projected at a town meeting, thanks to a boost in state aid from the newly signed Massachusetts budget.
Town Manager Kerry Lafleur told the Select Board at its July 6 meeting that extra funding in the $63.4 billion fiscal year 2027 budget makes the projected increase "a little bit less" than what residents were told to expect. He did not provide a revised percentage.
Gov. Maura Healey signed the budget into law on July 9 after months of Beacon Hill negotiations. Beyond the general aid bump, the budget delivers more than $150,000 in targeted earmarks to Concord and local organizations, The Concord Bridge reported.
The earmarks break down as follows:
- $50,000 to Concord-based nonprofit Quiet Communities for noise pollution reduction
- $50,000 to Emerson Hospital to boost emergency behavioral healthcare capacity
- $30,000 to OARS Inc. for water quality monitoring in area rivers
- $25,000 toward an Alcott Elementary School playground replacement
On top of those earmarks, Concord is receiving $156,145 in additional K-8 school funding and $48,499 in extra general government aid above what Healey's January budget proposal estimated. Concord-Carlisle High School will get just over $100,000 more than the governor's initial figure.
"For sure, it could be a net positive to the town," Select Board Chair Wendy Rovelli told The Concord Bridge.
The gains are fractional against Concord's nearly $150 million in expected FY2027 spending. But recent budget debates have hinged on comparatively small-dollar items. The estimated $44,000 cost of Sunday hours at the Concord Free Public Library, for example, was a flashpoint in recent budget cycles.
The Emerson Hospital earmark will support planning for a modern emergency department with dedicated behavioral health space, a hospital spokesperson said. Emerson is in the midst of a planned $100 million campus overhaul by 2030.
About a month before the FY2027 signing, Healey approved a separate $1.56 billion spending plan funded primarily through the state's "Millionaires Tax." That package routed $350,000 to Concord programs via four earmarks and reserved additional money to offset winter snow removal costs.
As we reported July 15, the same FY2027 budget also includes a $50,000 earmark for a Red Line extension feasibility study to Concord.
Separately, Concord officials are pursuing a $500,000 economic development bond bill allocation to study the effects of MCI-Concord prison redevelopment and a Route 2 rotary replacement. State Rep. Simon Cataldo helped secure the funding in a House version of the bill, though it was still pending in the legislature as of Monday, August 3.
The Select Board holds hybrid meetings at the Town House, 22 Monument Square, and online via Zoom. Multiple meetings are scheduled for August; residents can check concordma.gov for specific dates and agendas.
