The Select Board sat around a conference room table overlooking Marblehead Harbor, sipping coffee and eating blueberry and chocolate chip muffins as members discussed goals for the next fiscal year and laid out plans for the town’s post-override future.
At its annual retreat on July 24, the board looked beyond the budget crisis that dominated much of the past year, set priorities for the coming year and outlined a long-term financial strategy designed to keep Marblehead on stable footing for the next decade.
“What we accomplished this year is we went from looking down into the dark valley to actually having the ability to really control your finances in a very optimistic way,” Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer said. “We can actually look forward now.”
After voters approved a $15 million operating override in June, helping the town avoid a significant budget deficit, the Select Board used the retreat to review Marblehead’s financial outlook and discuss strategies for maintaining stability.
The board hopes to avoid another operating override through fiscal 2036, although continued health insurance inflation above 10% could require additional revenue measures in the future.
For fiscal 2027, the town budgeted $16.75 million for health insurance, the second-largest appropriation in the budget behind the school department. Employee health insurance has become one of Marblehead’s fastest-growing expenses and remains the town’s greatest financial uncertainty.
Select Board members, along with Kezer and Chief Financial Officer Aleesha Benjamin, spent the morning discussing how to move from responding to financial emergencies to long-term planning.
They reviewed progress on goals established for the previous fiscal year and developed new priorities for fiscal 2027.
Among those new goals is conducting an independent operational review to evaluate the town’s organizational structure, identify opportunities for increased efficiency and establish monthly financial reporting to the Select Board.
The reporting would include budget-to-actual comparisons. It would also identify revenue and expenditure risks and opportunities, and monitor volatile accounts.
Another key goal is developing a leadership transition plan for key municipal positions expected to become vacant this year, including the town administrator and finance director.
