Bellingham Selectboard Confronts $959,000 Budget Deficit Ahead of FY27

BELLINGHAM -- February 2, 2026, Bellingham Selectboard 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.