Framingham Selectmen Cap Special Education Reserve at $1 Million, Target 2 Percent Tax Levy

FRAMINGHAM — April 25, 2017 — Framingham Selectmen set a $1 million Special Education Revolving Fund and aimed for a 2 percent tax levy increase ahead of the 2017 Annual Town Meeting. The four-member board — Selectman Laurie Lee was absent — voted 4-0 Tuesday to fund the new account at $1 million, cutting CFO Mary Ellen Kelly's recommended $1.9 million and freeing $900,000 in free cash to offset the operating budget, a move the board estimated would save the average taxpayer roughly $40 and hold the levy increase to 2 percent rather than the full 2.5 percent cap. Selectman Jason Smith framed the split as a "win-win": "We put a million dollars into the SPED, which is more than we've done in the past — it would also allow us to use the $900,000 from there, half a percent, which takes $40 off the taxpayers." The board also voted 4-0 on the $2,450,000 capital budget, approved two new business licenses, and withdrew property-disposition articles for 150 Irving Street, Pearl Street, and Watson Place pending environmental due diligence.