Newton City Council Approves FY26 Budget

NEWTON, MA — The City Council voted unanimously to approve the city’s capital budget for Fiscal Year 2026 during its meeting Tuesday night.

The budget totals $547.6 million, marking a 4.2% increase from FY25’s budget of $525.4 million. With the addition of $70.9 million in Sewer Enterprise Funds and $5.1 million in Community Preservation Act funds, the total increases to $623 million.

According to Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, the school district makes up for 65% of Newton’s yearly budget. This year, $292.6 million of the total budget is toward the public school district’s operation, which marks a 3.65% increase.

One notable change that took place throughout the month-long budget process is a substitution of one-time school facility maintenance projects instead of NPS facility projects worth $1.1 million.
Fuller expressed gratitude to the City Council for approving her proposed budget.

“The funding in this Budget supports the students in the Newton Public Schools, moves us forward with the Cooper Center for Active Living and providing more programs and services for our older residents, rebuilds school buildings, invests in road paving & traffic calming as well as parks & athletic fields, funds our Library and extends support to our most vulnerable, addresses flooding issues, advances affordable housing, and supports top notch Police and Fire services,” Fuller said.