Winthrop Council Bonds $38.5 Million for New Fire Station, Approves Budget Motions

WINTHROP -- June 3, 2025, Winthrop Town Council approved a $38.5 million bond authorization for a new fire station and heard the Finance Commission's endorsement of an $82 million FY26 budget at the June 3 meeting. Finance Commission Chair Matt Gorkowitz called the budget "the first" he has worked on with no one-time revenues supporting operations, citing a 9.7 percent increase in general fund revenues to $66.4 million and noting that property taxes account for 66 percent of that total. The council voted 8-0 on five separate financial motions, including allocating $1.47 million in certified free cash across stabilization funds, transferring $200,000 from water and sewer retained earnings, and appropriating $20,000 from the dormant Ferry Enterprise Fund for insurance costs. Gorkowitz flagged up to $284,000 in public health department grant exposure amid federal and state funding uncertainty and backed raising the annual trash fee from $160 to $190 to shore up the structurally imbalanced Solid Waste Fund. The council also adopted a new free cash allocation policy effective July 1, reserving 10 percent of future certified free cash and directing 3 percent to a newly created school stabilization fund. Two candidates, Citizens Advisory Finance Commission Chair Karen Chavez and Michael Kenland, will be interviewed June 17 for the vacant Precinct 2 council seat.