Acushnet Select Board Adopts FY26 Budget After Removing Water and Sewer Pension Charges

ACUSHNET — May 22, 2025 — Acushnet Select Board adopts amended FY26 budget after stripping roughly $10,000 each in pension indirect costs from the water and sewer accounts. A board member objected to the charges — added without prior board discussion — and raised a broader concern that interest earned on the town's water revenue fund, estimated at $35,000 to $45,000 annually, has flowed into the general fund as free cash for as many as 20 years rather than being retained for water users. "If you take $35,000 and we just say this behavior's been going on for 10 years, the town has kept $350,000 of our water users' money," the member said. Finance Director Mr. Kelly confirmed the pension figures could be removed and offset through available revenue, and the board unanimously approved the budget as amended. The combined education appropriation stands at $19,778,167, including a $16,534,645 Acushnet School Department budget and a $3,243,522 Old Colony Regional assessment. The member said he is researching whether the water revenue fund can be converted to a full enterprise fund to prevent further diversion of interest earnings.