Select Board Advances Two FY27 Budget Plans

Select Board · Meeting of February 11, 2026

NAHANT — The Nahant Select Board voted to send two competing fiscal 2027 budgets to the town's finance committee ahead of May town meeting. Town Administrator Allison presented a $16.9 million level-services budget alongside a $17.9 million override version that would add four full-time firefighters and raise five below-market town salaries. The override would add about $730 to the average tax bill on a $1 million home, versus roughly a penny per $1,000 under level services.

Fire Chief Austin Andrum, in a letter read at the meeting, warned the department "does not have sufficient staffing to be able to safely extinguish a fire in a low-hazard occupancy." The board separately appointed Edmund Locke as finance director and approved a new $100 per-building inspection fee for multifamily housing. Superintendent Rob Lieber disclosed an unpriced, costly new out-of-district special-education placement not yet reflected in either budget.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of February 11, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.