Newton Finance Committee Unanimously Approves $2 Million in Police Wage Transfers

NEWTON -- June 22, 2026, Newton Finance Committee unanimously approves $900,000 snow-billing redirect and $1.9 million in police wage transfers. The committee voted 7-0 on all items at its June 22 meeting, including an amendment to docket 197-26 that diverts $900,000 originally earmarked for road paving to the snow-and-ice control account after one of the city's largest plowing contractors submitted approximately $850,000 in invoices months after the winter season ended, invoices that had not been captured in a $3.2 million year-end supplemental request processed in late April because the contract was not executed until late May. Chief Financial Officer Maureen Lemieux said she expects to bring a free-cash transfer to restore the paving account in September or October, and the city is working with the law department to require contractors to sign agreements by October 1 to November 1 each year. The committee also approved a $1,175,000 transfer for fiscal year 2027 Newton Police Association wages and a $710,000 retroactive pay transfer covering FY25 and FY26 under a newly settled three-year contract, the first jointly negotiated NPA agreement in more than five years, ending a prior arbitration dispute, and authorized a potential solar energy lease at Burr Elementary School projected to save $30,000 or more annually at under 7 cents per kilowatt hour.