By Stuart Foster, Contributing Writer
MARLBOROUGH – The Marlborough City Council voted to approve Mayor Arthur Vigeant’s $173,983,364 budget for Fiscal Year 2022 (F.Y. 22) at their meeting on May 24.
The budget, which the City Council unanimously approved 11-0, had previously been approved by the City Council Finance Committee in a 5-0 vote last Monday.
While City Councilor and Finance Committee Chair John Irish said health care costs had continued to rise over the past year, he said that the School Department’s budget had not risen.
“The School Department operating budget of $66,654,566 represents a zero increase for F.Y. 22,” said City Councilor and Finance Committee Chair John Irish.
Irish also added that based on a budget released by the Massachusetts State House Ways and Means Committee, local aid to Marlborough increased by $426,092.
Irish said that additional growth in F.Y. 22 is expected to add an additional $2 million in tax revenue to help stabilize the residential tax rate.
“Even with a zero percent increase in the budget, we need to be cognizant of the increase in taxes in the fall due to the rise in residential values,” Irish said.
Irish also said that Vigeant had advised there should be no reason for a supplemental budget to the F.Y. 22 budget. Irish said that no additional capital projects are planned, other than ones sent to City Council in February to cover infrastructure projects.
Irish asked for a suspension of City Council rules in order to vote on the F.Y. 22 budget. Both the suspension and the budget roll call vote were unanimously approved by the Council.
