Weston Finance Committee unanimously backs compromise FY21 budget for September town meeting

WESTON — August 6, 2020 — Weston Finance Committee unanimously endorses compromise FY21 budget ahead of outdoor Sept. 12 town meeting. Members voted 8-0 to support the operating budget on warrant Article 2 and 7-1 to support a roughly $3.93 million debt exclusion covering drainage work and a $945,000 school network upgrade, with member John McDonald casting the lone no on the exclusion. The deal, negotiated by member John Sallay with Town Manager Leon Gaumond, absorbed a late Select Board change restoring about $24,000 for Conservation, offset by $18,000 cuts to OPEB and roads. The committee finalized its annual report flagging Weston's roughly 84 percent share of employee health insurance premiums — versus 72 to 75 percent in peer towns — as a key driver of operating costs and the town's $48.2 million OPEB liability. Members debated sharply over whether to "expect" or merely "hope" to restore OPEB next year; "expect" prevailed. "If we're breaking the deal, then we're breaking all the votes that we just voted on," one member said of the OPEB restoration language. Town meeting is set for 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, on the high school football field.