Plymouth Town Manager Warns of “Fiscal Crisis” as Health Costs Spike

Select Board Rejects E-Bike & Retiree Benefit Changes

PLYMOUTH - December 16, 2025 - Facing a $4.5 million spike in health insurance costs and declining new growth revenue, Town Manager Derek Brindisi presented his “most challenging budget” to date, warning of a looming fiscal crisis that forced the rejection of requests for new police cruisers, firefighters, and IT staff. In a night of divided votes, the Select Board also struck down proposals to regulate e-bikes and reform retiree health benefits for new hires, citing the need for further review and union negotiations.

The Full Story

Town Manager Derek Brindisi delivered a stark financial forecast for Fiscal Year 2027, outlining a budget that he described as “risk-based.” The primary driver of the fiscal strain is a 13% increase in health insurance premiums, costing the town an additional $4.5 million this year alone. Combined with a legally mandated $1.7 million increase in pension obligations, these two line items consumed nearly 50% of all new town revenues [02:04:17].

“This is easily the most challenging budget that I’ve seen since we’ve been here,” Brindisi told the Board. He warned that without structural changes, the town could face severe consequences. “If we don’t make any changes on next year’s budget... we could be talking about position losses and other major cuts” [01:56:04].

To balance the $342 million proposed budget, significant cuts were made to departmental requests:

• Public Safety: Requests for eight new firefighters and eight IT staff members were denied. The Police Department, which also requested eight new officers, saw its request for new cruisers cut by two vehicles [02:20:23].

• Public Amenities: Parking enforcement at White Horse Beach will be transferred to the Recreation Department to save $50,000, and quarterly water testing at the Cedarville landfill was cut to save $24,000 [02:21:33].

• Revenue Trends: New growth revenue is trending downward as major developments like Pinehills near completion, dropping from a high of $5.3 million to a certified $3.3 million this year [02:08:16].

Select Board member Richard Quintal offered a blunt assessment of the situation, suggesting that tax increases or layoffs may be inevitable.

“The writing’s on the wall is not too good... We are going to go for an override, either that [or] there’s going to be layoffs, and that’s the last thing I want.” — Richard Quintal [02:57:38]

E-Bike Regulations Stalled Despite months of debate and public hearings, the Board voted 3-2 against placing a special act regarding Electric Bicycle regulations on the Spring 2026 Town Meeting warrant.

Select Board member Deborah Iaquinto proposed significant modifications to the draft legislation based on public feedback, including removing the registration requirement and allowing e-bikes on paved paths while maintaining a minimum age of 16.5 years [03:15:32]. While member Kevin Canty supported the move to address “bad actors” while protecting responsible riders, the majority of the Board felt the legislation was not ready.

Select Board member Bill Keohan argued that the warrant deadline—just hours away—was too tight to ensure the legislation was perfect. “I prefer before I vote to put something on the warrant that I fully understand... I just think that it’s... it would be in my experience sending articles to town meeting you want to cross those Ts you want to dot those Is” [03:42:02].

Retiree Health Benefit Reform Fails In another 3-2 vote, the Board rejected a proposal by Iaquinto to discontinue a “Special Act” provision for new hires. Currently, when Plymouth employees retire, their health insurance contribution rate reverts to the rate at the time of their hiring—often 10% or even 1%—rather than the active employee rate of 30%. Plymouth is reportedly the only municipality in the state with this provision [03:39:31].

Chairman David Golden and Vice-Chair Quintal strongly opposed the measure, arguing it would constitute “bad faith” to advance such a change without first discussing it with municipal unions, especially with contract negotiations set to begin next year [03:48:25].

Why It Matters

The FY27 budget presentation signals the end of a period of financial stability for Plymouth. The exhaustion of “new growth” revenue from major developments, combined with skyrocketing fixed costs like health insurance, means residents may soon face a choice between a Proposition 2 ½ override (tax increase) or noticeable reductions in town services, such as police response times and road maintenance. The rejection of the e-bike and retiree benefit articles suggests a Board that is hesitant to push forward controversial legislation without broad consensus, even as financial pressures mount.

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Official Minutes & Data

Key Motions & Votes

• Motion: To approve the proposed Waterway Regulations as presented (including new mooring specifications for larger blocks/chains).

  • Outcome: Passed

  • Vote: 5-0 (Unanimous) [[01:52:02]]

• Motion: To submit special legislation regulating Electric Bicycles to the 2026 Spring Annual Town Meeting warrant.

  • Outcome: Failed

  • Vote: 2-3 (NO: Keohan, Quintal, Golden; YES: Canty, Iaquinto) [[03:34:50]]

• Motion: To submit an article adopting MGL Chapter 33, Section 59, granting town employees in the military up to 40 days of paid leave for training.

  • Outcome: Passed

  • Vote: 5-0 (Unanimous) [[03:37:50]]

• Motion: To submit an article to discontinue the “Special Act” regarding retiree healthcare contribution rates for new employees hired after the effective date.

  • Outcome: Failed

  • Vote: 2-3 (NO: Quintal, Keohan, Golden; YES: Iaquinto, Canty) [[03:49:40]]

Public Comment

• Katherine Harrelson (Community Land and Water Coalition): Raised concerns about the “Restoration and Fuels Reduction Buffer” project in Myles Standish State Forest. She questioned if the Forest Reserve Scientific Committee reviewed the project and called for evaluating forest cutting in the context of total town-wide forest loss [03:30:38].

• Lori Dias: Advocated for an educational poster campaign regarding e-bike vs. e-dirt bike laws, similar to one used by the Raynham Police Department [03:35:12].

• Meg Ash: Spoke about rising Islamophobia and anti-Arab rhetoric in the community. She asked the Board to acknowledge the harm, strengthen human rights committees, and commit to anti-bias training for town officials and police [03:41:16].

• Dale Bryan (Chair, Climate Action Net Zero Committee): Stated the committee voted unanimously not to support the e-bike regulations as written, arguing they do not align with the town’s climate action plan [03:45:24].

What’s Next

• Budget Review: The Select Board will continue to review the FY27 budget over the next three weeks, with a planned vote to execute the budget on January 6, 2026.

• DCR Meeting: A public Zoom meeting regarding improvements to the Forefathers Monument will be held on December 17, 2025.

• Cedarville Testing: Several Board members (Keohan, Canty, Iaquinto) requested that quarterly water testing at the Cedarville Landfill be restored to the budget using free cash [02:33:20].

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Source Video: Plymouth Meetings: Local Seen Streaming Channel