Norfolk Town Meeting adopts $56.9 million budget, zoning overhaul

Town Meeting · Meeting of May 13, 2026

Norfolk Town Meeting adopts a $56.9 million FY27 budget and a contested downtown zoning overhaul. Advisory Committee Chair David Lutz called the $56,937,477 operating budget, up 2.5 percent, "no more than a level service budget," while Town Administrator Rob Geraghty warned the town "can't rely upon not filling positions to balance our budget every year" after leaning on $1.49 million in free cash for a second straight year. Norfolk Public Schools Superintendent Ingrid Alardi said the district is out of space after 20 percent enrollment growth since 2015 and must seat a building committee by June 1 under a new MSBA agreement.

The night's toughest fight came over Article 20, rezoning the B-1 Town Center district; Planning Board member Gary Sullivan insisted "we do not want tall buildings in town" and the 46-foot height cap stays, but the measure needed a second voice vote before Moderator Jay Tallerman declared the required two-thirds majority met.

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Source: the Town Meeting meeting of May 13, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.