WARWICK — Among the full slate of 27 warrant articles that were approved on Monday, Annual Town Meeting voters gave their blessing to using $30,000 from the Stabilization Fund to prevent a Proposition 2½ override.
Voters also adopted Articles 23 and 26, which appropriated $252,688 in free cash and $133,000 from the Stabilization Fund, respectively, to reduce the tax levy. The affirmative vote leaves the town with another $209,306 left in its Stabilization Fund.
The FY27 budget comes to nearly $3.47 million, up 9.76% over FY26. About $1.54 million, or 44.4% of the total budget, will be spent on education.
The two biggest drivers for the increase are rising health insurance and benefits, which accounts for 59% of the hike, and paying off the interest for the new fire truck purchased last year. These are both fixed costs, rather than new spending.
Outside of the budget, voters gave their blessing in Article 8 to establishing a revolving fund for user fees for the local after-school and summer programs for children. There will be a $10,000 spending limit, with expenses limited to the amount of receipts collected.
Diana Noble, the former Finance Committee chair and current School Committee chair who has stepped in as assistant town coordinator, explained that the revolving fund will include a mechanism for parents and guardians to contribute their own money to support the programs, as some have offered to do.
“These programs are separate from the school for a variety of reasons — some of them being … logistical and regulatory,” she said. “And they’re open to the kids, whether or not they’re in the school or not.”
Voters also adopted Article 9 to raise and appropriate $5,000 for the programs.
These figures were not included in the budget because after-school programs that are purely recreational, camp-based or lack specific academic/IEP (Individualized Education Program) goals are not recognized as formal education programs or extended-year services by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
During discussion of the omnibus budget, resident Dawn Magi asked about the $3,000 designated for a conservation agent for the Conservation Commission. Member Mary Williamson explained that she and her colleagues feel they need help administering the state Wetlands Protection Act.
“It’s very complex and complicated, and even though we’re a small town, we actually get a lot of filings that we have to deal with,” Williamson said, “and we’ve been struggling with it as volunteers for many years. We just felt like we wanted to ask for the possibility of some help.”
She said the conservation agent would work two hours per month.
Town Coordinator David Young said he supports getting a conservation agent but suggested using revolving funds instead. He made a motion that was rejected on the floor. Selectboard member Keith Ross urged voters to vote against Young’s motion, as the request was “a small amount of money.”
The library budget was successfully amended by an additional $15, increasing it to $37,111. According to Young, this is the minimum contribution the state requires. He compared it to net school spending in the education sector.
Residents also voted to allocate $87,257 for the FY26 snow and ice deficit and to raise appropriate $3,500 to audit town accounts.
The town reported a 10.98% voter turnout, with 76 of Warwick’s 692 registered voters showing up to Town Hall.
