Newton Finance Committee Approves Four Spending Items in 8-0 Votes

NEWTON — February 9, 2026 — Newton Finance Committee unanimously approves $178,000 in four routine transfers at first hybrid meeting in four years. The committee voted 8-0 on all four agenda items Monday, beginning with a $34,626 Community Preservation Act appropriation for the third phase of a citywide bike parking initiative — covering new covered shelters and additional racks at Newton North and Newton South, where peak bicycle counts have reached 200 — with more than 80 percent of total project costs covered by a Boston Region MPO Community Connections Grant. The committee also approved a $43,800.68 transfer returning Helpsy textile recycling revenue to Newton Public Schools — roughly 400,000 pounds collected in FY25 at 11 cents per pound, rising to 13 cents in April — and a $17,600 foster care transportation reimbursement representing 47 percent of costs Newton incurred in FY24. The final item, an $82,000 transfer to formally fund Arts and Culture Director Merrill Kessler's salary and benefits retroactive to January 1, drew the meeting's sharpest questioning, with Vice Chair Clifford Bixby pressing Budget Director Maureen Lemieux on whether redirecting Parks and Recreation savings could quietly leave the assistant open space coordinator vacancy unfilled; Lemieux said the position is not being eliminated and that the new administration is reviewing the posting.