Ayer Senior Center Board Approves Submission of Contested 10 Percent Budget Cut Scenario

AYER -- December 17, 2025, Ayer's Council on Aging board confronted a painful FY27 budget exercise at its December 17 meeting, working through how to absorb a potential 10 percent departmental cut totaling $26,578 from a budget of roughly $265,000. Council on Aging Director Katie presented a color-coded scenario document showing that the only paths to meeting the reduction target are cutting the catered meals program from four days per week to two, saving an estimated $8,400, eliminating the center's entire $7,500 programs budget, or freezing contractual step-pay increases for both herself and her union-represented staff, a move board member Dennis called "well beyond" the board's authority and potentially a contract violation. The board agreed to submit the scenario document as written by the December 29 deadline and let Town Manager Robert's office determine whether the wage-freeze items are acceptable, with a department head budget meeting expected around January 16 and a public budget presentation set for March 25, 2026. "The senior center is approximately 0.7 percent of the total town budget," the director noted in her narrative, "and reducing the budget by that much would create an undue burden on the department and require significant reductions in programs and services."