Bellingham Select Board Confronts $959,000 Budget Deficit Ahead of FY27

BELLINGHAM — February 2, 2026 — Bellingham Select Board receives preliminary FY27 budget showing a nearly $1 million town deficit and a $3.5 million school funding gap. Town Administrator Joe Leaden and Chief Financial Officer Heidi Cochran presented revenues of $84,546,004 against expenses of $85,505,436, projecting a $959,432 shortfall before any additional school commitment. Superintendent Peter Leaden told the board the district needs $3.5 million above its current appropriation — driven by $1.3 million in contractual salary increases and surging special education and transportation costs, including 49 new IEPs from July through December alone — and that failing to fund the gap could eliminate 30 to 38 positions district-wide. When asked directly about the path forward, the superintendent did not rule out a Proposition 2½ override: "An override would be, you know, an answer. Is it the ultimate answer? No." The board also approved an emergency intermunicipal water-purchase agreement with Milford, voted to overspend the FY26 snow and ice budget, and authorized a letter of support for a 58-unit, age-restricted affordable housing project proposed for a site adjacent to Depot Court.