Weston Select Board unanimously approves $106 million FY27 operating budget

WESTON -- March 24, 2026, Weston Select Board approves $106 million FY27 budget and sets town meeting warrant with fire station and parking articles. Town Manager Leon Gamond presented a budget representing a 4.4 percent increase over the current year, driven largely by a $950,000 jump in health insurance costs and more than $500,000 in additional pension liability, together accounting for $1.5 million in new unclassified spending. The board voted unanimously to include a $3.1 million article for the next design phase of a new fire station, with construction estimates ranging from $33 million to $37 million, as well as a $65,300 gravel parking lot near Cat Rock Park on Indian Hill Road, folded into the free cash article. A proposed $1 million capital stabilization fund aimed at smoothing future debt-service spikes divided the board, with Clerk John McDonald warning it "makes it easier to pass projects that people may not be that on board with," while member Anupam Sachdev backed putting it before residents; the article stays on the warrant without a committed Select Board sponsor. Finance Committee Chair Barath Pickett, participating remotely, said the committee unanimously backed the overall budget and estimated the stabilization fund could capture roughly $3.3 million in rolling-off debt service over six years.