Lexington Select Board Opens FY27 Budget Hearings With Projected $500,000 Gap

LEXINGTON — December 3, 2025 — Lexington opens FY27 budget hearings with a projected municipal shortfall of up to $600,000. Deputy Town Manager Kelly Axtell told the Select Board that $4.72 million in projected new revenue — roughly a 2.4 percent increase — falls far short of combined school and municipal budget requests averaging about 4.7 percent, with staff targeting a 3.5 to 3.6 percent revenue target that would still require departmental trimming. Police Chief Michael McLain presented a $9,790,022 level-service budget, up 1.51 percent, while flagging unresolved funding for the de-escalation room in the new police station as solar installation cost overruns threaten to consume project contingency funds. Fire Chief John Chisolm's $9,600,791 budget, up 2.34 percent, centers on a ladder truck replacement with a four-year lead time amid chronic borrowing from neighboring communities. Finance Director Carol Kowalski called the long-deferred Tyler Technologies cashiering implementation the department's "number one priority," and confirmed that Director of Assessing Rob Lent will retire after nearly 20 years of service. General fund capital requests total just over $19 million against an anticipated $16 million allocation.