On April 7th, the Select Board voted 3-0 to approve the April 27th Annual Town Meeting warrant which includes 28 articles and a citizens petition. The Finance Committee voted to recommend all the articles with a financial impact.
For additional information related to the articles and Budget Book, visit www.ayer.ma.us/townmeeting.
The town will share its Articles of the Day feature through its Facebook page again.
Budget Articles
Article 3 is the proposed FY2027 Omnibus budget, which represented a 3.37 percent increase from FY2026, per Draft 2 from the March 25th Public Budget Forum. Watch from 13:56 min and see the 10-year budget history.
With Draft 3, the budget number rose .1 percent, according to budget materials on the town website.
Either way, this year represents the second lowest budget increase in 10 years, just a few decimal points away from the very lowest.
This wasn’t the budget outlook early on. Last November, the town management warned the Finance Committee about a potential million dollar shortfall, amid an uncertain budget climate and projected employee health insurance costs. There was also caution on the ASRSD budget and other fronts.
In the end, health insurance costs rose 6.2 percent, much less than projected. See our Feb. 17 article.
Articles 4 and 5 are the proposed budgets for the Ayer-Shirley Regional School District (ASRSD) and the Nashoba Valley Technical High School.
Enterprise Funds: Articles 6-10 ask Town Meeting to raise, appropriate and transfer funds related to the Solid Waste, Ambulance, Sewer, Water and Stormwater funds.
Capital Budget: Articles 11 through 14 come out of this year’s Capital Planning Committee process. Watch the March 25th Public Budget Forum video from 31:01 min to see the Capital Plan Overview.
On March 3rd, we reported the Capital Planning Committee has recommended spending $3.469 million in FY2027 – a 54 percent reduction from FY2026. Roughly $646,000 from the General Fund; the majority fell under Enterprise Funds.
What is the town purchasing this year? We wrote about the Capital Planning Committee’s first meeting on Dec. 10th, the DPW’s presentation on Jan. 9th and the Sandy Pond Beach House discussion on Feb. 4th. While committee members supported the project, they decided it wasn’t ready to present to Annual Town Meeting.
Free Cash Articles
Articles 15-20 ask Town Meeting to approve transfers out of Free Cash. The town’s Free Cash certification was $2.9 million this year, coming after $3.2 million last year. Both are high certifications, compared to $1 to $1.5 million on average (Source: March 25th Public Budget Forum video, 8:45 min).
You can also watch from 27:19 min to see recommended use of this year’s Free Cash.
Community Preservation Funds
The Community Preservation Committee voted 5-0 to recommend all three articles.
Article 23 asks Town Meeting to appropriate the estimated FY2027 Community Preservation Fund revenues.
Article 24 asks Town Meeting to transfer $212,000 to the Ayer Affordable Housing Trust. This will support the fourth year of Ayer’s rental assistance program and help the trust continue to build funds for future affordable housing acquisitions and development. See page 13/14 for the explanatory note.
Article 25 asks Town Meeting to transfer $25,000 to fund the Sandy Pond Schoolhouse HVAC, which will support year-round events and classroom programming.
Other Articles
Article 21 would establish limits on 10 town revolving funds. Article 22 asks residents to approve $20,000 to fund the aquatic weed control program for town ponds.
Article 26 seeks to amend the Town of Ayer’s Zoning Bylaw’s business signage requirements so business owners can apply signage to exterior windows, with the Building Commissioner’s oversight for materials being used. The Planning Board held a public hearing and voted 4-1 to recommend this, with one abstention.
Articles 27 and 28 relate to an easement, deed restriction and conservation restriction associated with permitting the new senior center.
Citizens Petition: Authorize the Town of Ayer to Prohibit or Restrict the Application of Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides
This was brought forward by an Ayer resident who is involved with PACE, (People of Ayer Concerned about the Environment), according to the April 7th Select Board Meeting. You can read the citizen petition materials on the town website.
This isn’t a new topic in Ayer. The citizen petitioner spoke during public input at an Ayer Select Board meeting on March 18, 2025. In response, the Select Board voted to approve a policy banning the use of SGARs on town properties and those under the town’s care and control, as other Massachusetts communities have done.
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Article updated on April 16th.