Brookline Select Board Eyes Tiered Override Up to $23 Million for May Ballot

BROOKLINE -- March 17, 2026, Brookline Select Board opens debate on tiered property-tax override of up to $23.25 million. The board held its first of up to three override deliberations at a March 17 workshop, receiving the final 639-page report of the Expenditure and Revenue Study Committee, which identified a combined structural deficit of just under $26 million, roughly $8 million from the town and $18 million from the schools, over fiscal years 2027 through 2029. The committee unanimously recommended a tiered ballot question under which voters could choose the full $23.25 million ask, a lower amount, or nothing, with the full pay-as-you-go version projected to add $1,681 to the annual tax bill of the median single-family homeowner in fiscal year 2027 alone. Select Board Chair Bernard Greene and members directed staff to model a second tier near $19 million and return with itemized cuts from both the town and Brookline Public Schools. A failed override would eliminate 58 additional school positions in fiscal year 2027 and potentially 20 firefighters by fiscal year 2028. The board must file any ballot question by 11:59 p.m. on March 31.