BURLINGTON WEATHER

How Burlington Works

The Burlington Ways & Means (Finance) Committee unanimously approved more than $16.7 million in public works-related budgets Wednesday night.

The evening's four budget votes — covering public works operations, trash and recycling, street lights, and a state drinking water assessment — all passed 14-0-0 with relatively little opposition, but behind the votes was a more anxious discussion: how a town with costs rising faster than its tax levy can avoid the kind of fiscal crisis already hitting neighboring communities.

The public works operating budget was approved at $12,701,184, reflecting a 4.11% increase over the prior year — within the committee's 4.25% guideline. Assistant Town Administrator Patrick Lawlor presented the budget, noting that several long-tenured employees are expected to retire in the coming year.

Other drivers for this budget are rising and volatile utility costs, a jump in overtime to cover 24/7 treatment plant operations at Mill Pond, and a rising number of water main breaks.

The trash and recycling budget of $3,664,662 — a 7.06% increase — passed unanimously, but not before sparking the evening's most consequential policy discussion. Recycling processing costs alone surged 23.8%, which DPW Director Brian White explained was driven by the collapse of the secondary plastics market.

When committee member Roger Riggs asked whether the town would save money by simply eliminating recycling, the answer was frank: yes.

"As it currently stands, yes. It's cheaper to throw stuff away than it is to recycle," said White.

Lawlor also pointed out that towns are often charged for trash pickup by weight, and an education campaign on alternative ways to dispose of certain items could help in reducing disposal costs.

Members raised the possibility of creating an enterprise fund for trash and recycling — similar to what is being planned for water and sewer — where disposal fees would be charged directly to residents rather than folded into the tax levy. This wouldn't change the cost to residents for that service, but it would relieve pressure on the operating budget and therefore the tax levy, whose increase is capped by the state's Proposition 2 1/2.

That exchange opened the door to a broader conversation about the town's fiscal future in a time where costs are rising and the taxation ceiling is staying the same. Committee member John Iler brought up recent school layoffs in Lexington as a concrete example of the tradeoff Burlington might have to consider.

In the case of Lexington, said Iler, "You can accept that there's going to be more taxes to keep our current school staffing ... or you can really push to not pay more in taxes and accept that you're going to have fewer school staff."

Chair Doug Davison said the town will need to start educating residents about this pressure, even as the town lowers its budget increase guideline from 4.5% to 4.25% this year with plans to lower it to 3.75% in coming years. "That's impossible to do if these budget numbers that you have no control over at all continue to grow at this rate...And you could literally have to lay people off because of an ongoing increase in these accommodated accounts."

The pressure isn't going away. As costs continue rising faster than the tax levy allows, the Town Administration and Ways & Means Committee will have to keep finding ways to protect the services Burlington residents rely on — while keeping taxes in check.

The DPW's other two budget lines passed through with little discussion.

The street lights budget of $356,375 — a 1.14% decrease — marked the final year of a 15-year loan that funded Burlington's conversion from incandescent to LED street lights. But the good news comes with a looming challenge: the LEDs installed during that program are approaching the end of their 15-to-20-year useful life and will need to be replaced. The plan for this project is still under development.

The state-mandated drinking water assessment fee was also approved in the amount of $15,000.

The meeting's final substantive discussion addressed a different kind of cost concern: how clearly departments are explaining how they're spending money. This is especially relevant when considering the school budget, which is approved only as a bottom-line number by Town Meeting.

Committee member Chris Campbell, who is one member of the School Department subcommittee, raised the issue of large line items — some in the $20,000 to $35,000 range — labeled simply as "miscellaneous" in the school budget.

Member John Iler suggested a working threshold of $15,000 — roughly matching the town's capital item limit — below which miscellaneous designations might be acceptable, but above which the committee should seek to further understand. He framed the issue as one of institutional culture rather than line-item policing.

"By forcing explanations, it forces the overall issue of making people think carefully about how they're spending money," said Iler.

The next Ways & Means meeting is scheduled for April 8, 2026, when the committee will hear the police and fire budgets, emergency management, and regional vocational school assessments.

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