Select Board approves omnibus budget version 2.0 with $288,000 over ask
The Topsfield Select Board approved omnibus budget version 2.0 with a projected $288,000 over ask. Chair Rafael McDonald and Members Michelle Mercier-Link, Boyd Jackson, Marshall Hook, and Robert Kmetz voted unanimously to adopt the revised budget, which includes a new half-time planner position at
Select Board's Office · Meeting of February 4, 2026
TOPSFIELD — The Topsfield Select Board approved omnibus budget version 2.0 with a projected $288,000 over ask. Chair Rafael McDonald and Members Michelle Mercier-Link, Boyd Jackson, Marshall Hook, and Robert Kmetz voted unanimously to adopt the revised budget, which includes a new half-time planner position at $40 per hour ($39,710 cost) and maintains the administrative assistant at 15 hours per week. The board also added $56,000 for an estimated 13 percent insurance increase and cut $17,000 from road and bridge sidewalk work, along with smaller reductions to ambulance billing, gas, tree warden, and streetlight electricity.
Town Administrator Kevin Harutunian reports the board will review at a future session how the over ask translates into a potential override.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 272 words
Source: the Select Board's Office meeting of February 4, 2026, compiled from the official minutes.
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