Newbury Town Meeting Approves $27 Million Budget, New Taxes, and Historic District

NEWBURY -- May 5, 2026, Newbury Annual Town Meeting approves $26.9 million FY2027 budget, rejects senior center study, and passes voluntary nonprofit tax bylaw. Voters at the May 5 meeting approved a $26,948,625 operating budget representing a 4.6 percent increase over FY2026, including a $250,000 draw from free cash that Finance Committee Chair Erica Jacobson acknowledged breaks the town's 2017 financial policy but was preferable to a Proposition 2.5 override. A $250,000 feasibility study for a permanent senior center was the night's closest vote, failing 51 percent to 49 percent despite impassioned testimony from Council on Aging advocates and over the Finance Committee's unanimous objection that the town needs a holistic review of all building needs before committing funds. Voters approved a voluntary payment-in-lieu-of-taxes bylaw 60-40 over the objection of Governors Academy Head of School Peter Quimby, who argued the school had already initiated a formal written agreement with the Select Board and that the petition's financial figures misrepresented restricted endowment gifts as available operating income. New revenue measures cleared easily: a 0.75 percent local meals excise (65 percent yes) and a 6 percent short-term rental excise (80 percent yes) are projected to generate more than $60,000 annually combined. The town also established a local historic district around the lower green, the site of the 1635 settlement, and Jacobson announced her retirement from the Finance Committee after 15 years, urging parents of young children to seek appointment.