By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Earmarks for municipal projects included in the fiscal year 2026 state budget will not be awarded to cities and towns including Lynnfield until later this year, Gov. Maura Healey announced on Friday, July 4.
Healey signed the $60.9 state budget for FY26 on the Fourth of July holiday after lawmakers approved it on June 30, which was one day before the start of the fiscal year on July 1. The June 30 vote was the earliest that the State Legislature has approved the commonwealth’s spending plan since 2016.
“I’m proud to sign a budget that is fiscally responsible and protects what makes Massachusetts special,” said Healey in a statement. “In Massachusetts, we are continuing to lead and do what we know works – focusing on lowering costs, protecting essential care and services and moving our economy forward by investing in housing, transportation and our schools.”
While Healey did not veto any of the earmarks lawmakers wrote into the budget to support projects and programs in their districts, the administration will be delaying paying about $125 million of those until at least the fall. Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew Gorzkowicz told the State House News Service if the state is in a precarious fiscal position at that point, everything will be on the table, including the cancellation of municipal earmarks.
House Minority Leader Brad Jones (R-North Reading) and State Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) secured $170,000 worth of earmarks for Lynnfield that will be used for three different initiatives if the Healey administration releases the funds later this year.
“We have not received any notification specific to Lynnfield’s earmarks, but based on the governor’s remarks that have been reported in multiple news outlets, we’re assuming that they will likely be impacted by her decision to delay the release of many local FY26 budget earmarks until the fall,” said Jones’ Deputy Chief of Staff and Communications Director Michael Smith in an email sent to the Villager. “Rep. Jones is going to continue to monitor the situation and will work with Sen. Crighton to try to ensure that Lynnfield’s earmark funding is released to the town as soon as possible.”
The FY26 state budget includes a $75,000 earmark that would be used to convert unused locker rooms at Lynnfield Middle School into a health center for students.
Jones and Crighton also secured a separate $45,000 earmark for the Glen Meadow Park Little League field that will be used to make improvements to the batting cages and the infield via a partnership between the town and Lynnfield Little League.
The final Lynnfield earmark included in the FY26 state budget is $50,000 for A Healthy Lynnfield that would be used for substance use prevention funding.
“Working together with Sen. Crighton on the town’s behalf, we were able to secure funding to address some of the town’s top priorities,” said Jones in a statement sent to the Villager. “These earmarks will benefit Lynnfield’s youth and middle school students and will also support A Healthy Lynnfield’s ongoing efforts to address the scourge of substance use through prevention education and a continuing focus on helping individuals and families connect to the resources they need for support and recovery.”
Crighton agreed.
“In collaboration with Leader Jones and local officials in Lynnfield, we were successful in securing funding that will have a positive impact on our constituents,” said Crighton in a statement emailed to the Villager. “Through these earmarks, recovery and support services for preventing substance use will be bolstered and Lynnfield’s students will be supported through the middle school’s health center plans.”
In addition to the three earmarks included in the FY26 state budget, the town will be receiving $6,502,690 in Chapter 70 education aid, which represents an increase of $329,400 over fiscal year 2025’s appropriation. The FY26 state budget set minimum per pupil aid at $150 per student, which represents an increase of $46 over FY25’s rate of $104 per student. The FY26 state budget fully funds the fifth year of the Student Opportunity Act.
The town will also be receiving $1,294,692 in unrestricted general government aid (UGGA), which is a $14,087 increase over FY25’s allocation.
Additionally, the FY26 state budget plan includes $180 million in order to allow school districts continue providing universal free school meals to students for breakfast and lunch.
In the wake of school districts across the state dealing with a number of budget challenges including Lynnfield Public Schools, the FY26 state budget includes a provision that will require the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to conduct a review of the current Chapter 70 education funding formula in regards to local contribution requirements. DESE will be issuing a report on its findings as well as the state agency’s recommendations by June 30, 2026.
Healey signed the FY26 state budget the same day President Donald Trump signed the tax and spending cut bill known as the “Big Beautiful Bill.” In addition to making existing tax rates and brackets that were first approved during Trump’s first term permanent, the bill includes cuts to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to help offset the loss in tax revenue.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that the bill will cut federal spending on Medicaid and CHIP benefits by $1.02 trillion due in part to eliminating at least 10.5 million people from the programs by 2034.
MassHealth, which combines the state’s Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program under one umbrella, is the single largest area of spending in the state budget. The $22.1 billion that the House and Senate conference committee proposed for FY26 is roughly $300 million less than either branch originally proposed.
“Any slight impact or slight reduction in federal support for Medicaid could have a material impact on the budget, and those are the facts that we will have to come to face if that action comes to fruition down in D.C.,” said House Ways and Means Committee Chair Aaron Michlewitz (D-Boston).
— The State House News Service and The Associated Press contributed to this report.