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wbjournal.com | October 19, 2026 | Worcester Business Journal 37 City of Worcester Worcester city government expenditures Expenditure Fiscal 2027 budget Change from fiscal 2026 Worcester Public Schools $557,429,649 6.02% Police $62,192,427 -1.86% Charter schools, school choice & special education $54,944,646 6.05% Fire $54,207,453 9.90% Debt service $44,737,099 -0.10% Pensions $39,870,758 6.28% Health insurance $37,928,136 7.96% Financial integrity plan funds $24,188,317 0.76% Public works and parks $17,262,931 2.29% Innovation & technology $12,164,627 -0.66% Pension bond debt service $10,005,363 5.83% Contingency $3,284,962 -34.62% Parks $9,248,582 2.56% Worcester Public Library $7,244,572 3.66% Inspectional services $5,665,530 -0.04% Snow removal $5,500,000 0.00% Health and human services $5,600,904 5.84% Intergovernmental charges $5,223,011 3.17% Public facilities $6,678,015 42.80% Emergency communications $4,402,013 1.22% Law, insurance, court $3,428,489 -20.29% Finance $3,921,537 -2.06% Transportation & mobility $3,792,753 -3.75% Economic development $3,369,874 -5.59% OPEB Trust Deposit $1,296,873 -58.09% Human resources $3,086,458 6.33% City Manager's Office $1,908,043 1.74% Streetlights $1,620,490 0.00% Worker's compensation $1,036,673 -16.17% Assessing $1,221,984 0.97% Elections $1,161,572 2.03% City clerk $1,157,580 3.06% Injured on duty $882,556 -16.55% Diversity, equity and inclusion $950,588 -1.58% Sustainability & resilience $1,543,581 148.22% Auditing $956,307 -7.13% Union Station $765,000 12.78% City Council $628,964 -2.70% Unemployment $200,000 0.00% Workforce $200,000 0.00% Mayor $199,100 4.54% Total education $612,374,295 6.02% Total city services $216,243,846 2.37% Total fixed costs $172,489,276 2.27% Expenditure Fiscal 2027 budget Change from fiscal 2026 Source: City of Worcester, courtesy of Worcester Regional Research Bureau Worcester building permits for new construction Year Commercial Educational Residential 2015 14 1 76 2016 13 3 101 2017 12 1 122 2018 14 N/A 144 2019 12 3 110 2020 17 N/A 92 2021 16 N/A 60 2022 13 N/A 50 2023 18 N/A 142 2024 33 N/A 113 2025 14 N/A 78 2026 9* N/A 30* *Data as of Sept. 21, 2026 Source: City of Worcester, Department of Inspectional Services City of Worcester revenue sources Revenue source Fiscal 2027 budget % of funding Property tax $435,500,000 43.5% State aid (education) $446,900,000 44.7% Local tax receipts $63,300,000 6.3% State aid (general) $55,400,000 5.5% Total $1,001,100,000 Source: City of Worcester, courtesy of Worcester Regional Research Bureau