Gloucester adopts FY2027 budget with $55.8M for schools

Gloucester’s FY2027 budget took effect July 1, 2026, after the City Council adopted the spending plan and related enterprise-fund rates on June 16. For residents and businesses, the most immediate bill-related change is a higher sewer rate.

The final adoption record authorizes $155,313,033 in General Fund expenditures, including $55,778,897 for schools. The adopted plan also includes $22,609,617 in enterprise-fund expenditures, $1,068,000 in Community Preservation Act spending and $3,139,500 in revolving-fund spending authorizations.

Sewer rate rises to $22.01 per thousand gallons

For FY2027, Gloucester’s sewer rate is $22.01 per thousand gallons, compared with $19.89 in FY2026. The increase is $2.12 per thousand gallons, or 10.7%, according to the council’s adoption record.

The city’s water-sewer bills are issued quarterly. That means residents and businesses should see the new FY2027 rate applied through the regular billing cycle, although the actual change on an individual bill will depend on metered usage and the applicable billing details.

The council also appropriated $300,000 from sewer retained earnings to a reserved fund intended to help stabilize sewer user fees during FY2027. That action does not eliminate the approved sewer-rate increase.

Schools receive $55.8 million

The school appropriation is a single bottom-line amount of $55,778,897. It establishes the city’s adopted funding level for the School Department, but it does not by itself identify specific staffing, classroom or program changes. Those decisions are handled through the school system’s budget and administrative processes.

What the budget totals mean

The General Fund, enterprise funds, Community Preservation Act spending and revolving-fund authorizations are separate categories in the adopted financial plan. They should not be treated as one combined operating total or as a direct calculation of an individual household’s tax bill.

Utility rates and property-tax rates are also separate parts of Gloucester’s finances. The amount a property owner pays in property taxes depends on the property’s assessed value and the applicable tax rate, while a sewer bill depends in part on metered usage and the city’s approved utility rate.

Adopted budget versus earlier proposal

The mayor’s proposed FY2027 budget provides context about anticipated revenues, services, capital spending and other municipal costs. Those figures were proposal-stage figures, however. The City Council’s June 16 adoption record is the controlling source for the final spending amounts and rates described here.

For Gloucester residents and businesses, the next practical checkpoints are quarterly water-sewer bills issued under the new rate and the city’s implementation of the adopted FY2027 spending plan. The budget is already in effect; the remaining questions concern how the approved appropriations and utility rates are carried out during the fiscal year.

Sources

• Gloucester City Council FY2027 budget adoption record