Sudbury Select Board sets FY26 tax shift at 1.46, declines local-option exemptions

SUDBURY — December 2, 2025 — Sudbury sets FY26 tax shift at 1.46 and confronts a $1.6M school budget gap. The Select Board voted 5-0 Tuesday to adopt a residential factor of 0.9640 with a 1.46 commercial shift, rejected residential and small commercial exemptions 0-5, and capped the Means-Tested Senior Exemption at 0.5 percent of the residential levy. Principal Regional Assessor Harald Scheid said the town must raise $112.6 million, up 2.7 percent, with the average single-family bill rising about $193. Board of Assessors member Joshua M. Fox said all 76 senior exemption applications were tentatively granted, totaling about $312,000. Town Manager Andrew Sheehan disclosed a newly revealed $1.6 million Sudbury Public Schools shortfall — driven by three new elementary positions, out-of-district SPED costs, and pending teacher negotiations — that pushes projected structural deficits to $10.7 million by FY31. "This is not something we're going to solve by procuring better office supply prices," Sheehan said.