FY25 Town Administrator's Recommended Budget

Below is the recommended FY25 operating budget.

The FY25 budget is reliant on a $694,578 general fund override to balance. It includes the restoration of the second per diem position in the Fire Department and second overnight police officer position. The major driver of the override is the growth of the Groton Dunstable Regional School District operational assessment which is increasing by slightly under 10.84%.

Over the course of the last several months, the Town has held numerous meetings between all stakeholders, which started much earlier than is typical with the anticipation of the impending budgetary gap. Most recently, the Advisory Board Chair and Town Administrator have been meeting with representatives of the Town of Groton and the School District, and School Committee, to coordinate budget processes and do our best to reduce the deficits in both communities.

As a result of this work, the GDRSD School Committee recently voted to utilize a reduced amount of Excess and Deficiency Funds in the amount of $500,000 (down from roughly $900,000 in FY24) and phase out the kindergarten fee rather than removing it entirely in FY25. Most recently, the GDRSD School Committee reduced the assessment by $300,000 total, reducing the assessment to the Town of Dunstable by $68,686.

These actions have reduced the overall assessment increase to Dunstable from 14.5% to 9.13% but a deficit in the amount of $694,578 remains.