Wilmington Finance Committee Reviews FY27 Budgets, Hears MBTA Grant Loss Estimate of $5 Million

WILMINGTON -- January 31, 2026, Wilmington Finance Committee reviews wide-ranging FY27 departmental budgets and tallies MBTA grant losses at roughly $5 million. Meeting Saturday morning, January 31, the committee, chaired by Mary Ann Gillesau and joined by members Andy Levine, Joe Levino, Anthony Nelson, and David Neville, heard Town Manager Eric Flagle present budgets for Veterans Services, Board of Health, the Public Library, Historical Commission, Elderly Services, the Department of Public Works, and Public Buildings, nearly all held to contractual step and cost-of-living increases. The most significant operational request was from Elderly Services Director Terry Marnais-Sielas, who asked for two new 19-hour-per-week positions, an office aide and a kitchen aide, to manage a Senior Center now serving between 167 and 185 visitors daily across 37 programming classes. On the capital side, DPW presented a request that includes a $440,000 vacuum street sweeper and a $2.9 million water booster pump station on Woburn Street to go to town meeting for borrowing authorization. Flagle confirmed the town has conservatively lost approximately $5 million in town-side grants due to its non-compliance with MBTA Communities zoning law, with school grants adding further losses not yet fully tallied, and noted the state has now filed suit against Wilmington over the non-compliance.