Department by Department
Every department's adopted appropriation, as printed in each year's own Mayor's Budget book. Figures are never restated after the fact — a department's FY2016 figure is what was adopted in FY2016, not a later re-estimate.
What Each Department Does
What it is, who runs it, and the state law behind it, where there is one.
The single largest item in the whole city budget: everything it costs to run the Fitchburg Public Schools - teachers, staff, buildings, transportation, and supplies for every student in the district.
What the city pays toward its employees' health insurance, retirement pensions, and other benefits, on top of their salaries. This has been one of the fastest-growing costs in the whole budget.
The Fitchburg Police Department - patrol officers, detectives, dispatch, and everything else involved in public safety and law enforcement in the city.
The Fitchburg Fire Department - firefighting, emergency medical response, fire inspections, and fire prevention.
The Department of Public Works - the crews who fix potholes, plow snow, maintain parks and cemeteries, run stormwater drainage, and take care of most of the physical infrastructure you see around the city day to day.
The city's loan payments - principal and interest on money Fitchburg has borrowed over the years to pay for big-ticket projects like school buildings, road work, and equipment, the same way a mortgage payment works for a house.
The behind-the-scenes offices that keep city government running: the people who track spending, cut checks, collect taxes, assess property values, run IT, handle hiring, and provide legal advice to the city.
Trash and recycling collection and disposal for Fitchburg households.
A grouping of services aimed at residents who need extra support: help for veterans, programs for seniors through the Council on Aging, recreation programs, and the public library.
Fitchburg's payment to Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School (Monty Tech) for educating Fitchburg students who attend the regional vocational school instead of Fitchburg High School.
A catch-all budget line for city-wide costs that don't belong to any single department - things like insurance premiums and other shared expenses.
This pays for the Mayor's office - the elected head of city government who proposes the budget, runs day-to-day operations, and appoints department heads.
Public health protection for the city - restaurant inspections, communicable disease response, housing and sanitation code enforcement, and similar health-safety work.
The office that inspects construction and issues building permits, making sure new construction and renovations in Fitchburg meet the state building code.
This pays for the City Council - the elected group that passes local laws (ordinances), approves the budget, and represents each part of the city.
The office that handles planning, zoning, and housing and neighborhood improvement projects, largely using federal grant money (Community Development Block Grants) rather than local tax dollars.
The upkeep of city-owned buildings - repairs, cleaning, heating and cooling, and general maintenance so city facilities stay usable.
Money moved from the General Fund into another city fund - for example, to help cover costs in an enterprise fund like Water or Sewer. Not new spending on its own, just money being shifted between accounts.
Full Detail, FY2026
| Department | Adopted FY2026 |
|---|---|
| Fitchburg Public Schools | $90,563,395 |
| Employee Benefits | $44,850,836 |
| Police | $9,774,873 |
| Fire | $9,477,125 |
| DPW | $6,366,646 |
| Debt Service | $4,690,000 |
| Finance & Administration | $3,130,535 |
| Rubbish Removal/Collect | $2,538,478 |
| Human Services | $2,304,211 |
| Montachusett Regional | $2,062,859 |
| Miscellaneous Expenses | $1,739,602 |
| Executive | $929,880 |
| Board Of Health | $761,823 |
| Building Inspectional Services | $696,785 |
| Legislative | $669,172 |
| Community Development | $607,217 |
| Facilities Maintenance | $352,245 |
| Transfers Out | $0 |
| Total Expenditures | $181,515,682 |
By Fiscal Year
Department rows summed to 78643704, PDF total was 108759704