FRAMINGHAM - The Framingham City Council voted to approve the operating budget proposed by Mayor Charlie Sisitsky for the 2025 fiscal year during their meeting at the Memorial Building on Tuesday, June 4.

The $358,840,477 budget for FY25 represents a nearly $15 million raise—or 4.4%—from the FY24 budget. The new budget includes a 2.5% tax levy raise, which is projected to lead to $5.3 million in additional level compared to the prior year.

The final approval following the City Council's second reading comes after the recent recommendation from the group's Finance Subcommittee to remove $200,000 from the city’s budgeted reserve fund. At-Large City Councilor and Chair of the Finance Subcommittee George King noted during the full council meeting on May 21 that the decision was made based off of prior spending practices, adding that it was “more of a symbolic cut.”

To meet that new FY25 budget figure of $358.8 million, District 2 City Councilor Brandon Ward made a motion on Tuesday to bring the transfer from the city’s free cash fund down to $3.3 million, leaving the tax levy hike at the originally proposed 2.5%. That amendment passed by a 7-3-1 vote—King was joined by District 1’s Christine Long and Michael Cannon of District 4 in voting against it, while Tracey Bryant of District 9 abstained.

The vote for the final, amended budget passed by an 8-3 count. King, Long, and Cannon once again cast the dissenting votes.

Cannon had asked Sisitsky and his fellow councilors on May 21 to look at the budget following their initial reading and to consider identifying parts that might not be “mission critical” for the upcoming fiscal year. With the same grand total presented again for the second reading, Cannon took time to urge officials to find a new way of thinking going into future budget season procedures. Cannon called for a budget process that efficiently works for all of Framingham while accounting for factors such as aid from the state and economic inflation—a will that was echoed by King.

“I can get behind—as we all have, and as the community has—digging deep and spending more and sacrificing more for something that’s transformative, innovative…but just a massive spending increase and a really big tax increase at a time when it is least affordable,” Cannon continued.

The largest chunk of the operating budget remains the money allocated to Framingham Public Schools, as the district was approved for their $172.6 million budget request back in April. The school budgeting process was hindered due to the fact that assistance from the state level only increased by about $943,000 from FY24.