Pembroke Faces Budget Deficit Due to Healthcare Costs and Short-Term Interest
Town Manager presents department budgets while working to close financial gap
PEMBROKE - March 19 - Pembroke's town budget is currently in a deficit position due to unexpected increases in healthcare costs and short-term interest rates, Town Manager Bill Chenard reports during the Select Board's budget review meeting.
"Short-term interest and our healthcare did not do what we necessarily had hoped," Chenard says. "We currently are in a deficit position that we're trying to fill."
The Town Manager expresses confidence in balancing the budget, noting that officials may need to consider one-time funding options or request a larger overlay release from the Assessors to close the gap.
"I will be updating you as we go through the budget process. I'm confident that we're going to be able to do that," Chenard tells the board.
During the meeting, Chenard presents budget recommendations for several departments, including the Community Center, Recreation, Senior Services, Library, Health Department, Commission on Disabilities, and Herring Fisheries.
He emphasizes that no department has received 100 percent of their requested funding due to financial constraints.
"There is no department request that I have approved at 100 percent. I just can't. We just don't have the money for that," Chenard says.
The town manager thanks all department heads for their understanding of the budget situation, including the school department, which is working toward a number the town can afford while facing challenges with collective bargaining.
"The municipal government, you cannot deficit spend with the exception of snow and ice. Other than that, you have to bring in a balanced budget," Chenard explains.
The Community Center budget includes funding for part-time staff in what will be the first full year with staff in the building. While the amount is lower than initially projected, Chenard notes it will be sufficient to run the facility.
"This is what we expected, and we can run the building with this number," he says.
The Recreation budget maintains park maintenance funding at $5,000 despite budget pressures, with Chenard citing recent playground inspections and ongoing needs in town parks.
"We have a number of needs in our parks. We just had some recent inspections at one of the playgrounds and we're going to use some of this money to make sure that the parks and playgrounds are up to speed," he says.
For Senior Services, the budget maintains a full-time outreach worker position that was expanded from part-time last year.
"There's plenty of work for the outreach worker. She does a remarkable job," Chenard says. "It would be a disservice to our senior population if we did that."
Select Board member John Brown notes that the senior population in Pembroke has grown significantly, with over 5,100 seniors now living in town.
"We have increased quite a bit since we had that stuff making sure where the community center was going to be built, it was about 4,500. We have increased quite a bit," Brown says.
The Library budget includes funding for emergency shelter operations, which Chenard maintains is important for community resilience.
"Let's say we have a super, super hot event and we lose electricity in the town. We use both the community center and the library for that," Chenard explains. "The exact opposite of that is if we have a major storm and there's no heat in people's homes, we would use the community center and the library."
The Health Department budget includes increases for inspectional and nursing services, though not as much as requested. During public comment, Board of Health member Maureen Jasie asks whether the budget will allow for mandated inspections of establishments.
Chenard assures that the inspections will be completed, noting that the budget for inspectional services has increased from last year.
"Without question, if you look, I'm relatively confident. If you look at those numbers, we actually increased that from last year's budget. So I'm confident that we will be able to do that," he responds.
Other items discussed during the meeting include:
* The Select Board reviewed its public comment policy, with members discussing whether board members should be able to speak during public comment periods. Daniel Trabucco stated, "I was elected by the people to have an opinion, and I want to be able to express that opinion as a member of the board of selectmen."
* The board approved a request for the use of town roads for a Winter Lights 5K race on December 6, 2025, with a recommendation to better coordinate with the town's tree lighting event.
* Chenard reminded residents that over 3,000 households have not yet returned their town census forms. "As of June 1st, if you don't return your town census, it's not recorded, you will be marked as inactive on a bulletin board," he warns.
* The Community Center reports increasing usage, with daily attendance up 21.5 percent since January and 50 percent since October 2024.
* The Senior Services department received a $3,000 grant from the Pembroke Cultural Council for a summer music series starting May 28.
The Select Board's next meeting will include a public hearing for roadway acceptance of Bristol Road on April 9, with the annual town meeting scheduled for May 13.