Framingham City Council Advances FY27 Budget 8-3, Eyes June 16 Final Vote

FRAMINGHAM -- June 2, 2026, Framingham City Council advances FY27 budget on a contested 8-3 first reading, with a final vote targeted for June 16. The council's June 2 meeting featured more than a dozen residents urging the body to close an approximately $1.3 million gap to spare 31 educator positions facing elimination, on top of 81 positions already cut and roughly $7.7 million in school department reductions made before the mayor's first budget submission. School Committee member Adam Freudberg, speaking as an individual, argued that restoring the school department's original budget request would cost the average taxpayer just $43.28 per year. The council voted unanimously to ask the Finance Subcommittee to explore reinstating the Director of Elder Services position, which Mayor Charlie Sositsky proposed eliminating to help close an $8 million gap after the council rejected his initial budget calling for a 4.5 percent levy increase and $14 million in free cash. A motion to keep Parks and Recreation as a standalone department failed 3 to 8. The council separately voted unanimously to approve $36.8 million in general fund capital projects and $33.75 million in utility enterprise capital projects for FY2027-2031, and unanimously approved the long-pending Clarks Hill mixed-use PUD rezoning with a revised memorandum of understanding.