Northampton City Council Opens FY27 Budget Hearings Across IT, Health, and Schools

NORTHAMPTON -- May 27, 2026, Northampton City Council opens FY27 budget hearings with debate over school funding, federal grant losses. The council held the first of two public budget hearing nights May 27, receiving presentations from IT Director Luigi Ottaviani, Health Commissioner Meredith O'Leary, and Superintendent of Schools Portia Bonner. The approved school budget totals $56,317,261, with a city appropriation of $50,372,969 representing a 6.79 percent increase at the level services floor the mayor agreed to fund, while the school committee's preferred strong budget would require a 15.4 percent increase. Director of Finance David Nardi confirmed the city drew $1.9 million from reserves and trimmed expense lines across more than 10 departments to reach even the level services figure. O'Leary warned the health department faces a projected $1 million reduction in federal grant revenue, describing explicit restrictions in recent federal funding notices on harm reduction and equity-based programming, after the department received $1.73 million in grants in FY26. The evening's sharpest exchange came when Councilor Stratton argued that locally raised capital funds directed to the Picture Main Street project could be partially reprogrammed to the operating budget, prompting Nardi to respond: "If you use one-time funds, what would you do the next year?"