Sudbury Finance Committee endorses $325,000 free-cash boost to FY27 budget guidance

SUDBURY — January 26, 2026 — Sudbury Finance Committee backs $325,000 free-cash transfer to lift FY27 guidance across all three cost centers. Assistant Town Manager and Finance Director Victor Garofalo walked the committee through the mechanics on Monday: $325,000 in free cash will subsidize a planned $500,000 transfer to the OPEB reserve, freeing tax-levy capacity that splits $200,000 to Sudbury Public Schools, $70,000 to Lincoln-Sudbury and $55,000 to the town. Members Karl Fries and John Baranowsky pressed on the recurring-cost implications; Garofalo called it "a one-time fix" against a projected $3 million FY28 override cliff. The settled SPS teachers' contract carries a 2 percent FY29 market adjustment contingent on a successful override. The committee approved three sets of meeting minutes 8-0 and deferred its 2025 Annual Report vote to Feb. 2, when SPS appears for its FY27 budget hearing.