Dover Finance Committee Confronts $3.5 Million Gap in Preliminary FY2027 Budget

DOVER -- January 22, 2026, Dover's Finance Committee opened its FY2027 budget season facing a projected $3.5 million shortfall against $5.9 million in capital requests. Finance Director Michael presented a preliminary budget Thursday that holds revenues to a 2.5 percent Proposition 2 1/2 increase and a conservative $100,000 new-growth estimate, a figure officials called too low and said they would revisit with the Board of Assessors. The largest capital item is a $1.7 million fuel island slated for debt financing; a $600,000 intersection improvement at Center Street is expected to fall after a state grant of up to $1 million is confirmed, and a $450,000 culvert replacement is also grant-pending. Personnel requests not yet in the budget include two new police positions, a $114,000 ambulance staffing increase, and expanded Council on Aging hours. Officials cited neighboring Sherborn's roughly $900,000 structural deficit as a cautionary example, with Robin warning the committee to "proceed with caution" as a pending compensation study, unsettled union contracts, and a revised free cash estimate are all expected to reshape the numbers before the May 1 town meeting.