Dover Finance Committee Hears FY27 Budget Pitches From Schools, DPW, and COA

DOVER — March 5, 2026 — Dover's Finance Committee reviewed three department budgets and heard a new $50,000 sustainability request ahead of a March 9 public hearing. Dover Elementary School Superintendent Don Fiftal presented a fiscal year 2027 in-district budget increase of just over $233,000, or 2.63 percent, driven largely by a $400,000 contractual salary reserve; the school is projecting flat enrollment of roughly 450 students. DPW Director Kevin McCabe put his department's budget request at $128,000 above current levels, a 4.3 percent increase, citing a decade-old equipment maintenance line and the ongoing cost of contracting out engineering work the town cannot fill in-house due to pay-scale limits. Council on Aging Director Janet Claypool reported a 37 percent surge in outreach service demand since the community center opened, and requested $14,157 for expanded part-time staff hours alongside a $2,000 food-cost increase. Sustainability Committee Chair Anna Ngi told the committee that towns completing climate action plans similar to the one she is proposing — at costs ranging from $70,000 to $138,000 — have received between $800,000 and $2.8 million in subsequent grants, and asked for one-time funding of $50,000.