Rockland Grapples with Rising Costs in FY26 Budget
Health Insurance, Retirement Assessments Strain Town Finances
ROCKLAND - February 4 - Rockland officials are working to balance the fiscal year 2026 budget amid significant increases in health insurance premiums and county retirement assessments. Town Administrator Doug Lapp presented the first draft of a balanced budget to the Select Board on Feb. 4, highlighting the challenges faced by the town.
The Plymouth County Retirement assessment is set to increase by $511,000, while health insurance costs are estimated to rise by $934,000. These two items alone account for over $1.4 million in additional expenses for the town.
"We're looking at a 9 percent increase," Lapp said regarding health insurance premiums. "There's still a chance it could be a little bit lower like eight maybe even seven. We'll see."
The increases are not unique to Rockland. Select Board member John Ellard noted that other towns are facing even steeper hikes. "In Mansfield, we're looking at maybe 15 to 20 percent," he said.
Despite these challenges, the town is striving to maintain level services. The current draft budget shows a 3.4 percent increase on the general government side.
Lapp emphasized the importance of new growth to help offset rising costs. "Without growing that base, the only way we can fund our operations is through increasing burdens on local taxpayers," he said.
However, the town faces significant obstacles to new development. Assistant Town Administrator Courtney Bjorgaard highlighted the limitations of water and sewer capacity as major hurdles.
"Every time I talked to someone who even if they wanted to open anything, we don't have any water or sewer capacity," Bjorgaard said. "We say no because we don't have water or sewer capacity, but we can't address the water or sewer capacity because we have to say no. So it's just like a giant circle."
The town is exploring regional solutions to address these infrastructure challenges. Officials are working with neighboring communities and state agencies to find ways to increase capacity and enable future growth.
In other business, the Select Board had previously voted to put a revised fire station building project before voters as a debt exclusion at the annual election on April 12 and the annual town meeting on May 5.
"The board has voted to put the fire station building project, the revised plan B, before voters in the form of a debt exclusion," Lapp announced.
The board also discussed potential uses for opioid settlement funds. Bjorgaard presented recommendations from a working group, proposing to allocate $160,000 for the upcoming year. The plan includes supporting local organizations and funding a co-responder or mental health clinician position within the police department.
"The group would like to propose for funding for the use of these opioid funds... the total allocation is $160,000 that will be for the year," Bjorgaard explained.
The town has received approximately $357,000 in settlement funds to date, with more expected in the coming years.
Looking ahead, Lapp outlined the budget timeline, aiming for final approval by the Select Board on March 18. This would allow the Finance Committee to take their final votes on March 19, with the goal of having the warrant posted by early April.