Hanover sets budget timeline after override
HANOVER — Town officials adopted a new budget and capital planning timeline this week, emphasizing strict spending limits to keep Hanover on track after voters approved a tax override earlier this year.
Town Manager Joe Colangelo said the fiscal year 2027 budget process will follow the assumptions presented to residents during the override campaign: a maximum of 2.5% annual growth for town departments and about 3% growth for schools.
“I just want to make sure it’s clear in everyone’s head and if it’s not that that is how we are building the budgets for fiscal year 27 and moving forward,” Colangelo said. “I don’t want anyone to be expecting that, oh, the police department’s going to get 5% and [the] school department’s going to get 7%. No, it was very clear what was presented and I’m not planning on deviating from that.”
Finance Director Jim Hoyes cautioned that Hanover must remain disciplined despite the override’s passage.
“It’s clear that our revenues [and] the problem that was causing doesn’t go away,” Hoyes said. “The issue that got us to the 25 failed override and the 26 successful override, the big picture scenario doesn’t change.”
Hoyes said revenue growth remains limited at about 2.8 to 3.2 percent annually, meaning expenses must stay in line.
“No one can think because the override passed its business as usual with high expense growth that [Colangelo] referenced,” Hoyes said. “It really needs to be kept in line, in my view with our revenue and just spend within our means and judiciously supplement with free cash, which we’ll need to do anyway to cover those deficits that are forecast up until fiscal year 32.”
The Select Board also penciled in a tentative Special Town Meeting date of Dec. 8, 2025, and scheduled reviews of old capital projects for October 20 and November 3. Those meetings will allow officials to determine which unused funds can be closed and returned to free cash.
Rachel Hughes, Select Board member, said that timeline will give the town time to prepare decisions before the special meeting.
The fiscal 2027 planning process will include a 10-year capital plan, the first draft of which will be presented Sept. 8.
Board members voted unanimously to adopt the new budget process and timeline.