While only one article remained on the Fall Annual Town Meeting docket Thursday, Town Administrator Jamie Errickson gave those assembled something bigger to ponder before they got down to that night’s business: A likely override in 2025 (for fiscal year 2026).
Moderator Frank Foss referenced a handout made available at Kennedy Middle School that night of a memo from Errickson titled “Pending Override Discussion for FY 2026.”
An operational override (a voter-approved permanent property tax increase) would address what Natick officials have been referring to as a structural deficit for years now. Deputy Town Administrator & Director of Finance John Townsend trotted out that term again during a financial report on Sept. 18 to the Select Board about fiscal year 2024 results.
Sucking money from free cash ($4.5M in FY25) and using one-time funds from the federal government issued during the pandemic ($2.7M in FY25) isn’t a long-term solution given that the gap between revenues and expenses has been worsening.
Errickson wrote in the memo that meetings involving town and school officials have become more frequent in recent months to review finances and “anticipated budget challenges.”
“As Town Meeting members may recall, this issue is not new and has been articulated by Town Administrators (including myself) through the annual budget message for the past 10+ years,” Errickson wrote.
YES, I’d like to contribute to support Natick Report‘s work before my taxes possibly spike
He went on later in the memo to write: “Over the past several weeks it has been increasingly apparent that these structural challenges will reach an inflection point for the upcoming fiscal year (2026), whereby the Town will be unable to fill the structural deficit with one-time funds. Therefore, in an effort to ensure full transparency with the community, through this memo I seek to inform Town Meeting members of the potential need for an Operational Override as early as this March 2025 for FY 2026.”
Current estimates are for the override to be in the $7M-$8M range, which would be much larger than either of the town’s two previously successful general overrides.
“This figure is not final and comes with impacts, the details of which will be shared with the Select Board, School Committee, Finance Committee and the broader community in the coming weeks and months ahead,” Errickson wrote.
The memo from Errickson is listed under the Discussion & Decision segment of the Oct. 30 Select Board meeting agenda.
According to the State’s Division of Local Services, Natick voters last approved an override in 2008 for fiscal year 2009. That $3.9M increase to the town’s levy limit was used to cover operating and school budget expenses.
Natick could just spend less.
It’s time for a split tax rate. Let the huge businesses making money in Natick cover this. Homeowners are not making a profit on their properties but you keep asking them to carry this burden of increasing taxes. It’s not fair. All of the well-run towns surrounding us adopted split tax rates long ago. The Natick Mall is not going to pick up and move out of town if one is instituted.
You need more $? Just drive around town and see the waste that’s happening. Too many town workers just hanging out doing a single persons job. Too often town workers waiting until after hours to paint the fields to collect overtime. Maybe try having town workers not bleed us dry before taxing us more.