GREENFIELD — As the start of fiscal year 2027 inches closer, a review of the mayor’s proposed $70.02 million budget is well underway.
Members of the Ways and Means Committee this week questioned the public works, police and fire budgets, and heard residents’ concerns regarding police and education spending.
The city budget, which represents a 3.09%, or $2.1 million, increase over fiscal year 2026, will include the reduction of eight to 12 staff members across the police, fire, dispatch, information technology, energy, licensing, economic development, Council on Aging and recreation departments.
During the public comment portion of Monday’s meeting, residents expressed concerns about an “inflated police budget” and urged committee members to take a closer look at funding for the schools, which is budgeted at $25.7 million for FY27, a 2% increase.
“I feel really disappointed that the schools are again pretty severely underfunded. From my understanding, they’re not even level-service funded to what they would be to continue the same service from last year,” commented resident Molly Merrett. “I’m also really upset about the Middle School Rec Room position being cut. Looking at the Greenfield Police Department budget, it just looks really inflated.”
Merrett questioned specific police expenses, such as a $40,000 clothing line and $30,000 for training, and said those funds would be better allocated toward the schools.
“I want money going to our schools; I want money going to our kids,” Merrett said. “Providing activities, extracurriculars, good programs in the schools for our kids is preventative public safety.”
Residents said that cuts to the school budget would lead to parents sending their children to other school districts and would dissuade new people from moving to Greenfield, creating a vicious cycle where the city then loses tax revenue, faces more budget cuts and prompts more families to leave. They added that Greenfield has a low crime rate and does not need such a large police budget.
“Our city budget should be a moral document that reflects our values as a city, and I would like us to think about, if we have this one pot of money, where are the investments that are going to have the most significant impact on the well-being of the people of Greenfield,” resident EJ Baker said.
“It’s really frustrating to see, in Greenfield, a city where there is a lot of underfunded qualities, a police budget that is lacking transparency and, at least in my personal experience, a lot of policing in Greenfield,” resident Kyle Zegel added. “It just does not really seem like it makes much sense to me that we have more positions than you’d need. … I really just want to see less investment in policing and more investment in our schools.”
The total public safety budget for FY27 — including police, fire, animal control, dispatch, and more — is $8.78 million, a 3% increase over the FY26 budget. Police Chief Todd Dodge told members of the Ways and Means Committee that the 4.3% increase in the police budget reflects goals to expand and diversify personnel. Other goals funded by capital funds and the state Department of Mental Health include expanding the co-response program by hiring additional mental health clinicians, and expanding the department’s fleet of electric or hybrid vehicles.
Police Department salaries and wages are going up by 3.5%, which Dodge said covers contractual raises as well as costs associated with the federal Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant, which has been covering the salaries for three police officers and will run out at the beginning of the new fiscal year. Dodge added that he would be looking for new grant opportunities.
Ways and Means Committee Chair Marianne Bullock expressed concern over the loss of the grant funding, and noted she had been wary when the city had applied for the COPS grant a few years ago, because the city is contractually obligated to keep these officers and now pays for them out of its own budget.
“This one is one that’s concerning to me. When we were voting on this, we still had ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) dollars and things like that, that was more unrestricted, and we don’t have that anymore,” Bullock said. “I didn’t feel like it was responsible for us in the financial situation we were in to increase funding [that] we would have to adopt back.”
When asked about staffing levels, Dodge explained that having a staff of 34 full-time employees allows the department to have four officers and a supervisor on duty for each shift, and that while the department is not fully staffed, it is “not in dire straits.”
The budget book accounts for 36.5 full-time equivalent staff, which includes officers as well as the executive assistant, administrative clerk and court administrator. This represents a decrease of one full-time patrol officer from FY26.
Committee members also asked about accreditation expenses and membership costs. Dodge explained that this year is a reaccreditation year, and that being accredited helps the city save on insurance costs and ensures they are providing services in accordance with best practices. He added that he tries to cut unnecessary spending when possible, but paying for some memberships helps cut costs on training and purchases.
“I think we’ve been very cautious with the taxpayers’ money,” Dodge said. “Doing as much as humanly possible to not just waste money and spend money.”
Other increases in the budget that were reviewed on Monday included an 11% increase in the Department of Public Works budget, which equates to $3.9 million for FY27. DPW Director Paul Newell explained the department’s goals for FY27 include continued work on the Main Street reconstruction project, Transfer Station repairs and upgrades, and repairing bank erosion at the Green River Swimming & Recreation Area.
The committee reviewed the other portions of the public safety budget, including parking at $125,902 (a 1% increase), dispatch at $727,726 (a 11.3% increase) and fire at $3.27 million a (1% decrease).
“This is a very tough year,” Fire Chief Robert Strahan said. “I know it’s not just the Fire Department that’s having a tough year with the budget, but it is a very difficult year. We’re going to do the best we can.”
Strahan said the budget reflects 2.5 positions being cut, including a fire prevention bureau clerk, and the department would shift workload throughout the week to make up for the loss. He added that no firefighters would be laid off, but rather, staffing would be reduced through attrition.
“We’re not laying a firefighter off. We’re just not able to fill it,” Strahan said. “It’s painful, but we’ll get through it, and we’ll figure out a way to manage it, and we will work closely and try to restore that position.”
In a post on Facebook, members of the firefighters union expressed concern with staffing levels and being able to maintain adequate coverage to respond to larger events, such as the 13-acre brush fire that occurred a few weeks ago.
“On any given day, Greenfield firefighters respond to fires, medical emergencies, hazardous conditions, rescues, and natural disasters with professionalism and dedication. Recent events, however, have highlighted a growing concern that can no longer be ignored: our staffing matters,” the union wrote. “Last month’s large brush fires in Greenfield and Deerfield stretched resources across the city and region. What began as fast-moving fires along the railroad tracks quickly escalated into multiple alarms, threatening homes, businesses, Interstate 91 and critical infrastructure. More than 100 firefighters from departments across Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire ultimately responded to bring the incident under control. Mutual aid is an essential part of the fire service, but it was never intended to replace properly staffed local departments.
“Staffing in 2005 was seven firefighters per shift, averaging 800 to 1,000 emergency calls a year. With the new budget cut, our staffing is below that, and we are projected to run close to 4,500 calls this year,” the union continued. “Greenfield firefighters will continue to answer every call for help with professionalism, dedication and pride. But dedication alone cannot overcome chronic under-staffing forever.”
The full budget can be reviewed at tinyurl.com/GreenfieldFY27Budget.
Correction, May 13, 2026 5:46 pm: This story has been updated to correct the school budget increase. The school budget for FY27 is increasing by 2%
