Newton’s Board of Alderman sacrificed watching the Celtics and Red Sox victories tonight and instead passed Mayor  Setti Warren’s $312.9 million FY13 budget.

A press release from the mayor’s office said the move solidifies “Newton’s firm financial footing and [demonstrates] that our fiscal house is once again in order.”

Here’s more from the release:

Mayor Warren presented his budget to the Board of Aldermen on April 17th, highlighting the game-changing contracts with all 17 unions, efficiencies and cost savings found through zero-based budgeting, and the outcomes-based approach to preparing this year’s budget.

The historic contracts with our unions are the first of their kind in the commonwealth, allowing a 2.5% increase in compensation and health care equaling the growth rate in our revenue at 2.5%. This game-changing accomplishment will see the city save 100 million dollars over 5 years. The budget passed this evening is also historic in another way: for the first time in Newton’s history, this budget is directly connected to strategic outcomes that will be measured from year to year using metrics so we are guided by goals and quality of service delivery, not just the bottom line.

“This budget really reflects our community priorities, values and vision, and demonstrates that our city is once again on the right financial and operational path,” Mayor Warren said. “This budget not only protects critical city services while increasing efficiency, but ensures that we are on strong financial footing going forward, and our partnership with the Board of Aldermen has helped us to achieve that.”

So is it time to break out the campaign?