(10-minute read)
For residents looking to stay up to date on key town matters, this recap highlights the major takeaways from the override question-and-answer webinar held on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
Watch the full meeting here on RCTV’s Youtube page.
Review the Override Hub on the town’s website.
Review the presentation slides.
Key takeaways
The town settled on a $6.5M override after months of analysis, and officials said a smaller amount would still require significant staffing cuts.
Nearly every department would feel a failed override: an estimated 67 positions are at risk districtwide, the library could lose state certification over reduced hours and funding, and police staffing would return to 2018 levels.
Officials pointed residents to existing relief options, including a senior tax work-off program, the Senior Circuit Breaker tax credit, and hospital trust funds for medical expenses, while acknowledging residents' affordability concerns.
Why $6.5M, and not a smaller number
Business Administrator Josh Delaune opened the session with questions submitted to Override@ReadingMA.gov, starting with why the town has only presented a $6.5M override option rather than smaller alternatives.
Town Manager Jayne Wellman said the town explored multiple scenarios between May and July and presented options to the Finance Committee, Select Board, and School Committee on how much free cash to use and how different amounts would affect the average tax bill. The Select Board ultimately voted to move forward with $6.5M, and town staff built their budgets around that figure. She said the town faces a $9.8M structural deficit, with the $6.5M override paired with $3M in free cash to close the gap, and that lower override amounts would require deeper cuts than what is currently projected.
Chief Financial Officer Sharon Angstrom said the town had considered overrides as large as $14M before the Select Board settled on $6.5M. She said the average single-family home in Reading is valued at $944,193 for FY26, with an average tax bill of $10,348, and that a $5M override would mean a $566.52 increase while still requiring staffing cuts. She said the town has exhausted its reserves and needs to maintain 15% in reserves to protect its AAA bond rating, and that updated figures show the tax impact to be closer to $800-$850 per household for the Killam and Reading Center for Active Living (ReCAL) projects rather than the roughly $1,000 original estimate. Wellman added the projects are coming in under budget, meaning the town will not need to borrow the full amount for either.
Angstrom said a $3M to $4M allowance from free cash was the most the town could responsibly use, and that even a $5M override paired with $3M in free cash would leave a $1.8M gap, equivalent to roughly 18 layoffs at an estimated $100,000 per position.
Superintendent Dr. Henry Turner said he has fielded questions about why cuts fall so heavily on schools, noting that schools make up approximately 66% of the town’s overall budget. He said reductions would occur at every level, with the School Committee ultimately deciding on specific cuts.
Delaune asked whether Proposition 2 ½ applies to annual tax increases the way it does to debt exclusions. Angstrom clarified that debt exclusion payments reflect the town’s actual debt service for the year and do not increase by a fixed 2.5% annually, as the general tax levy does.
How the town and schools build a budget
Asked who decides what gets cut and how budget priorities are set, Wellman said the process is a joint effort between the town and schools that starts with the department heads; preparations for FY28 began roughly six months before the town typically begins the budget process. She said the town has been effectively level-funded for years and could not continue down that path. As one example, the fire department requested four additional firefighters, which is not feasible in the current fiscal climate. After an initial Level 1 budget, Angstrom and Wellman refine it into a more realistic Level 2 version for the Select Board, with department heads revising further in December as Level 3 and Level 4 discussions, alongside capital planning, take shape. Angstrom added that inflation has made it difficult to keep infrastructure replacement on schedule, stretching some 10-year assets to 12-13 years.
Turner said the schools are already building their FY28 budget, incorporating enrollment projections completed over the summer. He said the School Committee’s core responsibilities are hiring, supervising, and evaluating the superintendent, approving the budget, and setting policy, with budget decisions discussed in early January through a process he described as inclusive, transparent, student-centered, and collaborative with principals.
Facilities and staffing without an override
Facilities
Asked about the practical impact on departments if the override fails, Facilities Director Joe Huggins said the town is bringing two new buildings online, including the Killam School in February 2028 and ReCAL in August 2027, adding roughly 1.2M square feet of space to manage. Without an override, he said the department would hire less maintenance and custodial staff and reduce outside cleaning contracts, having already trimmed energy costs. He said his department already runs lean compared with similar or larger communities, with staff covering basics during nights and summer cleanings, and that further cuts “will hurt” even as the department does its best. Wellman noted the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) specifically recognized the facilities team’s quality when awarding the district its building project.
Police
Reading Police Deputy Chief Christine Amendola said a failed override would mean losing four to five positions overall, including dispatch and Reading Public Schools’ resource staffing, along with layoffs and two open officer positions by spring. The department already runs with a single administrative staffer. She said further cuts would require pulling from detective and specialty units to keep patrols staffed, and could affect the department’s crossing guards, drug coalition work, and parking enforcement, returning staffing to 2018 level before the previous override. Reading currently has 46 employees, compared with an average of 47 in similarly sized communities, and Amendola said the department had been underfunded on overtime for years despite efforts to level-fund it. She said the department is also holding off on replacing two cruisers, a policy in place for more than 20 years, and plans to replace only one next year.
Fire
Fire Chief Rick Nelson said the department opted not to pursue a SAFER grant, which would have required a three-year staffing commitment at declining reimbursement rates, starting at 75% and dropping to 35% by the third year, a financial commitment the department could not guarantee. The department is budgeted for 12 members per group but currently staffs 11, increasing overtime for 24-hour shifts. Since FY22, the overtime budget has grown 5% while firefighter salaries have increased more than 17%, and the department has exceeded its budget in 7 of the last 10 cycles. He said the department must maintain an engine on Woburn Street for mutual aid, and that budget shortfalls have at times forced it down to nine staff, pulling the chief’s vehicle out of service. In 2025, 42% of fire calls and 47% of ambulance calls overlapped with another call in progress, a share that has been rising.
Comparing Reading with 12 other fire departments, some with advanced life support services and some without, Nelson said Reading’s gross budget per resident is about $266 compared with an average of $319 among departments offering advanced life support, and that Reading’s cost per response is $1,556 compared with $1,944 among those peers, a 20% difference. He said Reading responds to about 83 emergencies per budgeted position compared with 73 among peer departments, roughly 14% more per position, and that Reading’s $6.8M budget runs about $1.2M lower than Wakefield’s $8M fire budget, even though Wakefield is staffed with 13 members per group compared to Reading’s 12.
Library hours and certification at risk
Library Director Amy Lannon said the library has already worked to control costs, leaving little room for further cuts beyond staffing, which determined its hours. Without an override, the library would drop from 60 to 54 hours a week, reducing programming and outreach, including services done in partnership with Elder and Human Services and Veterans Services. She said state law requires municipalities to fund their libraries at a minimum level, roughly 2.5%-3% growth over three years, and that an 8% budget cut would put the library’s state certification at risk. Losing certification would mean residents could be denied service at other certified libraries statewide, and the library would lose eligibility for state aid. While waivers are available for proportional, temporary cuts, Lannon said maintaining 60 hours a week is what protects the library’s certification and state funding.
What a cut to the schools budget could look like
Turner said the schools’ $3M to $4M cut would be worked out by the School Committee using the same reduction scenarios and non-personnel options discussed at its October 15 meeting, with impacts falling largely on staff. He said no single cut would close the gap; it would take a combination of measures.
Tax relief and assistance for residents
Relief programs for residents
Asked what relief is available for long-term residents concerned about being priced out, Wellman pointed to a tax relief and exemptions section on the town’s Overrde Hub for seniors and veterans, including the Senior Circuit Breaker tax credit and a senior tax work-off program currently capped at 10 participants, which the town hopes to expand. She encouraged residents to seek help early, noting eligibility is based on age and disability rather than length of residency. Angstrom added that hospital trust funds are available on an income basis for residents struggling with medical expenses, including prescription costs.
ARPA funds and staffing growth
Finance Committee Chair Marianne McLaughlin-Downing, who chaired the town’s ARPA Committee, addressed a chat question about whether schools used federal ARPA funds to add positions, clarifying that ESSER pandemic relief funds, not ARPA funds, supported some positions that were later converted to permanent, locally funded roles. She pointed residents to the fall 2022 Town Meeting Warrant for more detail. Turner said the only ARPA funding the schools used supported the ARC literacy program, while ESSER funds were federal pandemic education relief, and that current finance leadership has been careful not to leave ongoing positions dependent on one-time money. Wellman added that ARPA funds partially supported a new part-time volunteer coordinator position, which was later combined with a shred nurse position between Elder and Human Services and the Health Department to fund both the volunteer coordinator and a program coordinator role, rather than directly replacing another position’s salary.
Asked how much town staffing has grown since the pandemic, Wellman said very little, noting the volunteer coordinator position is currently unfilled and that the Finance Committee and Select Board have limited growth in recent years while preparing for the override. She said being fully staffed in police and fire creates added pressure elsewhere, with 13.5 positions currently held open across town departments. Angstrom said she was not aware of significant growth either, and Turner said the schools have instead increased revenue through out-of-district special education placements and School Choice, while remaining lean compared with neighboring districts in per-pupil spending.
Responding to a chat comment that many residents do not qualify for existing relief programs or hospital trust funds, Wellman said the town recognizes that gap and is looking for ways to broaden eligibility for the tax work-off program.
Turner closed the session by saying he was impressed by the town’s engagement and the quality of resident questions, pointing to recent events at the Parker/Coolidge Schools and Joshua Eaton Elementary as examples of the community’s commitment, and said he remains grateful to serve as superintendent.
Watch the October 28, 2026 Override Webinar Q&A on the RCTV Youtube page.
