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 Councilor Patricia Nolan and Councilor 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.