Ayer Finance Committee Reviews DPW's Level-Services FY27 Budget Proposal

AYER -- March 5, 2026, Ayer Finance Committee reviews broad DPW budget for fiscal year 2027, flagging snow and salary concerns. Public Works Director Dan VanScampoeck walked the committee through seven general fund and enterprise budgets at the March 5 meeting, proposing largely flat operational spending while noting that the FY26 snow and ice account is tracking over budget and could require deficit spending recovered from the following year's free cash. The water enterprise fund is projected to drop roughly 2 percent overall, while the wastewater budget rises about 4 percent, a figure Finance Committee member Eric Seckman noted is driven almost entirely by debt service, with the day-to-day operational budget increasing only about 1 to 1.2 percent. Both the water and sewer salary lines showed a 23 percent year-over-year jump that VanScampoeck attributed partly to a department assistant moving from 32 to 40 hours per week, with further clarification promised before the next budget draft. Sludge removal bids open March 26 and could shift the sewer fund's current $300,000 proposed figure. The Rate Review Committee is recommending no stormwater rate increase for FY27.