COLRAIN — The Selectboard is expected to vote on a $5.29 million fiscal year 2026 budget to recommend to voters at Annual Town Meeting.

In preparation for the May 6 Town Meeting, the Selectboard and Finance Committee met last week to review the town’s budget and a draft warrant. The proposed budget includes a 7.72% increase ($379,431) over the fiscal year 2025 figures, and covers increases in legal fees and Highway Department staffing.

Town Administrator Diana Parsons said she tried to level fund the budget as much as she could but there were some budget lines that needed to be increased, including $1,500 in town administrator expenses as she will need take a recertification class to be the town’s chief procurement officer.

“I’m asking for an increase in this,” Parsons said. “It’s my professional development, which is in my contract.”

Parsons is also recommending the town double its legal budget from $10,000 to $20,000. Parsons said staff may not need all that money, but being able to consult with town counsel on topics such as the town’s role and obligations in upcoming Sewer District repairs would be beneficial.

“As we’ve been going through some things and getting closer to having discussions with what’s happening with the Sewer District and there’s a few other things, I just think maybe increasing it might be a good idea,” Parsons said. “We may not use it — we’re running way ahead this year, but it’s just one of those things you don’t know.”

The public safety budget is $347,108, and covers increases to Fire Department training costs, electricity and vehicle maintenance.

The largest portion of the budget will go toward education. In total, Colrain is expecting school assessments to be $2.95 million next fiscal year, a 4.56% increase. The assessment for the Mohawk Trail Regional School District will be nearly $2.59 million and the assessment for Franklin County Technical School will be $357,201. Parsons said the Franklin Tech assessment saw a larger increase (13.4% in comparison to Mohawk Trail’s 3.56%) because the town is seeing an increase in the number of students attending the tech school.

Parsons added that while the school budget represents the largest portion of the budget, the biggest increase will go to the Highway Department. The Highway Department budget for FY26 is $636,672, a 29% increase over FY25’s figures. The increase covers higher wages for staff and a larger overtime budget.

“This is one of the biggest, besides education,” Parsons explained. “Those are big numbers [in the school budget], not big increases. This is our big increase.”

The Selectboard is expected to vote on April 22 to recommend the budget and sign the Annual Town Meeting warrant. Town Meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6, at Colrain Central School.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.