ORANGE — The town manager recently gave the public a rundown of Orange’s fiscal situation as the calendar year draws to a close.
Matthew Fortier explained that the fiscal year 2026 financials remain preliminary, pending final year-end closeout by the town accountant. During a joint meeting of the Finance Committee and Selectboard on Nov. 4, he said that preliminary results indicate actual recurring revenues came in at about $28.47 million.
Keith LaRiviere, chair of the Finance Committee, expressed concern about the health of the town’s future budgets.
“I see a budget threat in the fact that Orange is on the hook for $23 million to cover our share of the construction of a new tech school, which, my understanding is, is going to cost us upwards of about $700,000 a year for 30 years,” he said, asking Fortier when the first of those payments will start to affect the town’s budget.
“The assessment’s a reality. It’s not even a threat,” Fortier said. “The real threat is whether or not we can afford it in the … general fund debt payment schedule.”
The new Franklin County Technical School building is projected to cost $236.6 million, though after reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), Franklin Tech’s 19 member municipalities would be responsible for paying $122.8 million. The estimated tax impact on a typical homeowner is projected to range from approximately $87 to $335 per year depending on the community, with the anticipated tax increase for the average single-family homeowner in Orange being $239.57.
Orange’s first assessment is projected at about $20,000 for fiscal year 2028, according to Fortier. He added that the town’s capital assessment for the new technical school “is not really a big threat for 2028. It is a big threat for FY2029.”
Elizabeth Zielinski, superintendent of the Ralph C. Mahar Regional and Union 73 school districts, mentioned that Mahar used federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to improve its infrastructure.
“Plus, we have done a really good job at chasing some major infrastructure grants,” she said. “So we are off of oil. We are propane, because it’s less expensive.”
Zielinski mentioned, however, that Mahar will need a new roof in roughly five years. She said the roof spans 4 acres and replacement will cost about $30 million.
Attending the meeting remotely, Finance Committee Vice Chair Kathy Reinig said the projected 1% to 2% revenue increase is a very limiting factor.
“One thing I want to point out to people is that that is less than the 2.5% levy increase on the taxes,” she said. “And a lot of that is because … roughly a third of our revenue comes from the state, and that goes up by less than 1% a year. So that’s dragging down the revenue estimates significantly.
“Our local receipts are also not increasing at the inflation rate, so that’s also pulling things down,” she added.
Reinig said town departments will “need to be held as close to stable as is at all possible.”
