No Municipal Services Override for Pembroke in FY27, but SSVT Override Coming
Electric Rates Set to Rise
PEMBROKE - February 11, 2026 - Town Manager Bill Chenard announced that Pembroke will not require an operating override for municipal services in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget, a significant relief for taxpayers amid rising costs. However, residents will see an immediate increase in electricity rates due to a regional “design flaw” and will face separate override questions for the South Shore Vocational Technical High School at the upcoming Town Meeting.
The Full Story
In a joint meeting with the Advisory Committee, Town Manager Bill Chenard presented a balanced FY27 budget that avoids a municipal operating override, despite projecting healthcare cost increases between 14% and 25%.
"I am not tonight recommending an override... We are fortunate a lot of our neighbors don't have this... The majority, a super majority of Plymouth County communities, will have [already] had an override vote or are having an override vote this year." — Bill Chenard, Town Manager
The proposed budget projects $85.9 million in revenue [51:33], primarily driven by property taxes and state aid. While municipal operations remain within the levy limit, Chenard warned of “red flags,” particularly regarding the Snow and Ice budget. Recent storms have depleted funds, and a regional salt shortage is complicating efforts.
“We have salt, but we don’t have enough to make it through the season,” Chenard revealed. “Eastern and Mortons are both without salt... We are making sure there is enough salt to make it safe, but it is a challenge” [01:09:29].
Electric Rates Increasing Earlier in the evening, Mark Cappadona of Colonial Power, the town’s aggregation consultant, delivered “bad news” regarding electricity rates. A new ancillary service charge from ISO New England—dubbed a “Daisy charge”—has forced a rate adjustment.
Rates will rise from approximately 13.9 cents to 15.187 cents per kWh, resulting in an estimated $7 monthly increase for the average household [09:30]. Cappadona explained the charge stemmed from a pricing model failure during a winter storm event that cost more in two days than was projected for two years.
“It’s a design flaw for an ISO New England’s program... nobody thought this could happen,” Cappadona said [13:53]. Despite the hike, Pembroke’s rate remains lower than the National Grid basic service rate of roughly 15.37 cents.
Vocational School Overrides While the town budget is balanced, voters will still face override questions. The Select Board voted to include two articles for the South Shore Vocational Technical High School on the Annual Town Meeting warrant:
Article 10: A levy limit override to fund tuition assessments.
Article 11: A debt exclusion override to fund the school’s major building project [01:32:45].
Why It Matters
For Pembroke homeowners, the “no municipal override” announcement means the town portion of their tax bill will not see the sharp structural increases facing many neighboring South Shore communities this year. However, the confirmed electricity rate hike is an immediate hit to monthly household budgets, and the looming Vocational School overrides mean voters will still be asked to permanently raise taxes for education infrastructure in May.
Official Minutes & Data
Key Motions & Votes
FY26 & FY27 Warrant Articles: The Board voted to include drafted articles in the Special and Annual Town Meeting warrants, including the Vo-Tech overrides and the Heroes Act acceptance.
Motion: To include articles in the warrant.
Vote: Unanimous [01:34:46]
Precious Metal License Transfer: Approval of license transfer to George Hannoush Jewelers.
Motion: To grant precious metal license transfer.
Vote: Unanimous [05:51]
Electric Contract Amendment: Authorization for the Town Manager to sign the amended contract with the new rates.
Motion: To allow Town Manager Bill Chenard to sign the amended contract.
Vote: Unanimous [26:54]
Duxbury Inter-Municipal Agreement (IMA): Authorization for KP Law to provide a legal opinion on a water connection sharing agreement, despite representing both towns.
Motion: To allow KP Law to provide legal opinion.
Vote: Unanimous [01:29:39]
Public Comment
Plastic Bag Ban: In response to a resident’s question from a previous meeting, Town Manager Chenard clarified that the Board of Health Agent is the official responsible for enforcing the town’s plastic bag ban [01:36:27].
What’s Next
Budget Hearings: Department heads will begin presenting individual budgets to the Select Board and Advisory Committee over the next several weeks.
Warrant Printing: The goal is to finalize all warrant articles by April 22 for the May 12 Annual Town Meeting [01:25:12].
Source Video: Pembroke Meetings: Local Seen Streaming Channel