PLYMOUTH - February 19, 2026 - Town Manager Derek Brindisi presented a sobering outlook for the Fiscal Year 2027 budget, warning that rising fixed costs—specifically a $5.1 million spike in health insurance—are outpacing the town’s revenue growth.
Genuinely alarming reporting here. The detail about fire service calls doubling since 2015 while staffing stays flat is probably the most under-discussed consequence of fixed cost bloat, because it's the kind of latnet risk that only becomes visible in a crisis. I've seen similar budegt dynamics in other mid-sized Massachusetts towns where health insurance premiums are crowding out service delivery, and the excess levy buffer eroding to $2M this fast is a real warning sign.
changed the date of the Open meeting law training to TBD.
Genuinely alarming reporting here. The detail about fire service calls doubling since 2015 while staffing stays flat is probably the most under-discussed consequence of fixed cost bloat, because it's the kind of latnet risk that only becomes visible in a crisis. I've seen similar budegt dynamics in other mid-sized Massachusetts towns where health insurance premiums are crowding out service delivery, and the excess levy buffer eroding to $2M this fast is a real warning sign.
AI is pretty impressive. I watch many of these meetings.