Wayland Finance Committee strips $125K stormwater item from capital budget

WAYLAND -- February 12, 2025, Wayland Finance Committee strips $125,000 stormwater compliance line from FY26 capital budget. The committee voted Feb. 12 to recommend a $9.79 million fiscal 2026 capital budget after pulling annual stormwater permit-compliance costs that Finance Director Brian Keveney had shifted from operating to capital during last May's forecasting crunch. Member Brian O'Hurley, who led the change, called the move "bad precedent," saying "you don't put operating expense items in the capital budget." The panel also approved a $3.14 million enterprise fund capital budget on a 5-0-2 vote, including a contested $1.3 million MWRA permanent-connection design appropriation tied to a long-term dual-source water plan estimated at $34 million to $45 million, and a five-year capital plan of $43.3 million through fiscal 2030. Member Iris Hoxha said she was "not sold" on the dual-source strategy.