Wellesley Housing Authority Approves FY2026 Budget as State Rejects Management Agreement

WELLESLEY -- June 22, 2026, Wellesley Housing Authority approves FY2026 budget despite state rejection of Cambridge management deal. The three-member quorum, Chair Maura Renzella and members Renee and Odessa, voted unanimously at the June 22 meeting to submit the fiscal year 2026 operating budget after EOHLC sent a June 16 letter declining to sign the authority's proposed management agreement with Cambridge Housing Authority. The approved budget removes a $100,000 EOHLC supplemental income line and rolls the occupancy specialist salary back from $85,000 to $55,000, reverting to the 2025-approved rate of $55,000. Renzella called the document "a fluid budget that is going to shift" once the management question is resolved, but said six months without authorized staff pay increases made delay untenable. The board also voted unanimously to install audio and video recording devices in the Barton Road community room on a pilot basis ahead of a formal surveillance policy, driven by summer programming including a Wellesley Rotary Club farmer's market and a Wellesley Free Library reading machine. A proposed $500,000 CPC security upgrade grant request was postponed until all five board members are present.