Gray has recently released a draft of its proposed municipal budget for fiscal year 2026.

According to a document from the town, the main goals of the budget are to support community growth and town priorities, such as the Village Transformation Project, while also keeping municipal tax increases to a minimum. The total FY26 proposed budget for departments is $13,796,772, an increase of around $394,000, or 2.94%, from last year. Of that amount, $7,390,187 would be raised through non-property tax revenue sources, leaving the town’s current municipal tax needs at $6,406,585. Gray’s tax rate is projected to be $10.10 per $1,000 of property value, an increase of $0.40, or 4.11%, from the previous fiscal year.

The budget process began on March 11 when Town Manager Michael Foley presented the proposed budget to the Town Council during a workshop, followed by review sessions for individual items such as law enforcement, recreation and administration. A second workshop was to take place on March 18. From there, the FY26 budget to go on the ballot will be presented for public hearing on Tuesday, April 1, with an initial approval vote taking place two weeks later, and the town will vote on the finalized budget — both municipal and education — at a town meeting on Tuesday, June 10.

Within the departments, the biggest reduction in the budget will be in the form of capital expenditures, which have been reduced by $147,250, or 75.8%, to a total of just $47,000. According to Foley, this is not because of a lack of projects, but rather because the vast majority of the $2,072,000 that will be spent on capital expenditures will come in the form of borrowing, rather than taxpayer money, reducing the need to raise taxes for these projects. Notable capital projects for the next fiscal year include the purchase of a pair of new dump trucks, expected to cost $650,000; fuel tanks for the public works facility, expected to cost $321,000; and additional funding for the Stillwater Recreation Fields, expected to cost $150,000.

The largest increase in funding will go toward Public Safety, which will see its funding go up by $415,581, or 19.1%. The budget for this department has increased by nearly $1 million since FY22, going from $1,650,950 to $2,591,484. This includes $832,200 in full-time personnel salaries, $295,000 for per diem personnel, $418,130 toward the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department and $324,079 in hydrant fees.

Regarding projected funding for the remaining departments, $4,590,415 will go to administration, a decrease of $162,219, or 3.4%, from the previous year; $991,615 will go to the library and Recreation Department, an increase of $53,267, or 5.7%, from the previous year; $4,534,740 will go to the Public Works Department, an increase of $412,965, or 10%, from the previous year; and $1,041,518 of the department budget will go toward debt service, a decrease of $178,583, or 14.6%, from the previous year.