Newton Finance Committee Approves $1.65 Million in Snow and Cooper Center Transfers

NEWTON — February 23, 2026 — Newton Finance Committee unanimously approves $1.65 million in transfers at blizzard-forced Zoom meeting. The committee, meeting entirely remotely on February 23 after a snowstorm made in-person attendance impossible, cleared a $1.5 million transfer from the comptroller's reserve to the Department of Public Works snow account and a separate $150,000 transfer for Cooper Center project closeout costs. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Lemieux told the panel the city had spent approximately $4 million on snow and ice removal before Monday's storm, which she estimated would add at least $1 million more, and said bluntly that "I cannot imagine that we are going to end this winter within a $5 million appropriation" — signaling a likely return request drawing on the city's $20 million in unappropriated free cash. Public Buildings Commissioner Alex Valcarce explained the Cooper Center closeout transfer covers first-year operational needs after the project's construction contingency was drawn down by a $298,000 miscellaneous metals subcontract during the December 2023 rebid, when a redesigned project came in at $24,207,000 — $5.6 million below the rejected August 2023 bid. The committee also unanimously recommended the appointment of former Mayor Ruthann Fuller to the Horace Cousins Industrial Fund board, which holds close to $3 million in assets and distributed approximately $187,000 in emergency grants to roughly 150 Newton residents in fiscal year 2025.