Ayer Finance Committee hears school district budget with no financial cushion for FY 2027

AYER — March 19, 2026 — Ayer Finance Committee reviews police and school district budgets as free cash tops $2.9 million. The committee heard Thursday that the Ayer Shirley Regional School District's FY 2027 assessment for Ayer will reach $16,197,293, a 5.8 percent increase over last year's combined figure, down from roughly 10.8 percent the prior year, though district officials warned the budget "has zero living room" and relies on $1.1 million in circuit breaker funds, $700,000 in cuts, and an unconfirmed $130,000 Chapter 70 increase. The Ayer Police Department presented a 2.57 percent budget increase of approximately $81,000, driven largely by a shift to a $61,000 cloud-based network to achieve federal CJIS compliance, absorbing costs previously borne by the town's IT budget. The department's COIN jail diversion program, fully funded by a Department of Mental Health grant covering all personnel costs, faces an uncertain future as the statewide grant pool has been reduced from roughly $19 million to $3 million. Town Manager Robert recommended allocating the $2.9 million free cash surplus — nearly double the town's historical average — across pension forward-funding, OPEB, stabilization replenishment, debt prepayment projected to save $61,000 in interest, and a $250,000 partial repayment of the UDAG fund tapped for the senior center project.