Cambridge Finance Committee Sets 3.5 to 4 Percent FY26 Budget Growth Target

CAMBRIDGE -- November 20, 2024, Cambridge Finance Committee opens FY26 budget review in November, targeting 3.5 to 4 percent spending growth while projecting up to an 8 percent property tax levy increase. Meeting in an unusually early session designed to give the City Council genuine input before priorities are locked in, Finance Committee Co-Chairs Councillor Patty Nolan and Councillor Paul Toner heard from Assistant City Manager Lisa Spinner and Budget Director James Jennings, who presented a preliminary maintenance-of-effort budget increase of 3.7 percent driven largely by a $14 to $15 million jump in debt service costs tied to the Tobin School renovation and a new firehouse. A separate $13 million projected decline in non-property tax revenues means the levy itself must rise substantially faster than the overall budget. Staff announced plans to bring a $40 million free cash allocation to the debt stabilization fund before the City Council early next year, against a certified free cash balance of approximately $203 million. Council members debated how to fund priorities including the RISE Up overdose prevention program and after-school scholarships as ARPA funds expire, with Vice Mayor Marc McGovern warning that potential federal cuts under the incoming Trump administration, including to special education reimbursements, could further complicate an already tightened fiscal picture.