The city council unanimously approved City Manager Fidel Maltez’s proposed $272,378,292 general operating fund budget for Fiscal Year 2027 at Monday night’s meeting.
The vote came following a week of subcommittee hearings where the council heard from department heads about their individual budgets for FY27.
The council held a public hearing on the budget before Monday’s vote, but there were no takers to speak on the proposed spending.
Maltez has stated that the budget reflects a disciplined approach to fiscal management, protecting the essential city and school services Chelsea’s community relies on while navigating an uniquely challenging fiscal environment.
The budget allocates $116,129,801 for city expenditures and $156,248,491 for the Chelsea Public Schools from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.
“We know that moving forward that money is getting tighter and tighter, but we know that to be able to keep our community safe, to keep our schools open, keep our families together at this time, we have to continue to try to stretch our budget,” said District 8 Councilor Calvin T. Brown. “The serious, hard notes are that we really have to start tightening up our belt here in Chelsea. But this is the spirit of what we want to see here, this covers some of the development, some of the projects that we need to continue to work to meet the needs of our residents.”
Previously, Maltez had noted that the school department budget is increasing by 3.55 percent, which he said was a minimal increase to address the revenue loss from an enrollment decline of nearly 350 students. He said that loss is unprecedented and has a significant effect on the entire community.
“This year our City is increasing our support of Chelsea Public Schools by approximately $4 million,” the city manager noted in May. “This is the highest contribution above net school spending from any gateway community.”
Maltez said the city is able to contribute this additional funding by utilizing $4,495,000 in reserves to support the budget.
Maltez has also explained that city expenditures have increased by 4.8 percent, the lowest annual increase since FY22. He added that the majority of this year’s increase in the budget, or 3.88 percent, are non-negotiable items. These items include things like the cost of regional schools, employee healthcare costs, charter school costs, and several others.
In other business on Monday night, the council approved the West Chelsea Mixed-Use Overlay District for the area around the Market Basket plaza.
Several residents initially sought to speak during the public hearing on the overlay district, but Council President Roberto Jimenez-Rivera noted that they actually speak about the inclusionary zoning amendment that is before the council and will be discussed further in the coming weeks.
“I just want to clarify what the difference is between this and the inclusionary zoning piece,” he said. “This does not impact affordable housing requirements; that will be done under the inclusionary zoning piece. What this does is essentially allow for the development of what are called mixed-use buildings which are buildings that have commercial spaces on the first floor and then housing on top.
“All of that will be subject to whatever inclusionary zoning ordinance the city has, whether it is the current ordinance or whether it is something that we change in the coming weeks, because there is also that conversation,” Jimenez-Rivera said. “But this piece does not impact affordable housing at all.”