Layoffs Coming: Abington Orders 5% Budget Cuts Across Town Departments

Abington, Massachusetts department heads are building two fiscal 2028 budgets — one level-funded, one cut 5% — and Town Manager Michael Maresco says layoffs are already certain. "I told department heads already that there's going to be layoffs," Maresco said at a joint meeting of the Select Board and Finance Committee on Monday, Oct. 26.

Finance Director Andrew Nocon set out the numbers behind the orders. The 5% cut is only a starting point. The current forecast shows a 6.3% reduction would be needed to balance the fiscal 2028 budget. State aid rose just 1.1% last year, a pace Nocon called not sustainable. Pension contributions stay relatively flat next year, then jump 9.6% in fiscal 2029 — roughly $200,000 more than expected.

How deep could the cuts go?

Maresco widened the range. With most union contracts in their third year, the reduction could run from 5% to 8%. Fuel, pension and health insurance costs are all rising. That pressure is why department heads were told to expect staff reductions rather than trimming around the edges.

Is a tax override an option?

No. Both boards ruled it out. Finance Committee Chair Matt Salah said the committee sees no appetite for another override this year and will make the budget work without one. Select Board member Daniel Eddy said his board is "in lockstep" with that position. Members of both boards urged residents to press state officials for more local aid, and Salah noted the town's state representative has filed a bill seeking a 10% increase.

The refusal matters for workers: without new revenue, the gap closes through spending cuts, and personnel is where municipal budgets concentrate.

Where does the snow budget fit?

Members also debated the snow and ice account, one of the few line items with unusual legal rules. It's budgeted at $100,000, but Maresco said it should be $300,000 to $400,000. Raising it would cost about the equivalent of four positions. Salah said the town has never spent less than roughly $350,000 to $400,000 on snow and ice in recent years. The catch: the account cannot be lowered once raised, and it is the only one the town may legally overspend.

That creates a direct trade-off. Every dollar moved into snow and ice comes out of headcount elsewhere.

What happens next?

A suggestion box for residents' revenue ideas will go on the town website. The two boards plan to meet jointly again in early January, when the twin budget drafts — level-funded and 5% cut — will face the 6.3% gap the forecast already shows.