Finance Committee votes to require earlier budgets

Finance Board · Meeting of September 21, 2026

CLINTON — The Clinton Finance Committee elected new leaders and voted to move up its budget calendar. Members unanimously elected Mike Chikonsky as chair and Mark Levenger as vice chair, then approved Levenger's motion requiring town and school budgets be submitted no later than February 1, earlier if possible. New Town Administrator Karen Clark, who started July 6, and School Superintendent Dr. Meyer told the board the town faces a tighter fiscal 2028 budget because state Chapter 70 aid increases are leveling off after the Student Opportunity Act phase-in; Meyer said roughly "54 percent of our school budget is state aid now." Clark committed to giving department heads budget numbers before they are formally advertised, after members said staff had learned final figures only "on town meeting floor" in past years.

The committee set its next meeting for November 2.

In the full story:

• Call to Order and Approval of Minutes
• Reorganization of the Committee
• Introduction of New Town Administrator and School Superintendent
• School Budget Outlook and Chapter 70 Funding
• Budget Timeline Debate and Vote
• Old and New Business: Meeting Frequency and Scheduling
• Public Comments and Recognition
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,277 words

Source: the Finance Board meeting of September 21, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.