Newton Committee Advances $64 Million Police and Fire Budgets for FY27

NEWTON — May 7, 2026 — Newton's Public Safety and Transportation Committee unanimously advanced $64 million in police and fire budgets for fiscal year 2027. The committee voted 5-0 on straw votes to forward the Newton Police Department's $30,022,078 budget and the Fire Department's $34,101,124 budget to the Finance Committee and full City Council, and voted 6-0 on two free-cash appropriations — $75,000 for a replacement jaws of life and $1 million for self-contained breathing apparatus harnesses. Police Chief John Cahoon, roughly three months into the role, told the committee that 93 percent of the police budget is personnel costs and that the department's 149-officer authorization is being worked toward after a period of vacancies; he said a 24-camera body camera pilot is on track to launch without supplemental appropriations, with full program costs expected in the FY28 budget. Fire Chief Joseph Gentile reported a record 12,130 emergency responses in 2025, up from 9,500 in 2021, and said the trend is regional, confirmed at a Metro Fire Chiefs meeting held the same day — noting that five significant structure fires have occurred in Newton in the first weeks of May 2026 alone, with electrical causes the dominant theme.