Municipal Matters

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. The Select…

The town and its Public Employee Committee have reached a new health insurance agreement that creates an opt-out incentive program “designed to reduce future health insurance costs,” according to Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer. Under the agreement, eligible employees who have participated in the town’s health insurance plan for at least two consecutive years and have qualifying health coverage elsewhere may voluntarily opt out of the town’s plan. Employees who choose to waive coverage will receive an annual incentive payment of $4,000 for declining individual coverage…

Marblehead currently has two open positions following the resignation of Finance Director Aleesha Benjamin and the forthcoming retirement of Town Administrator Thatcher W. Kezer.  At the July 22 select board meeting, Kezer gave an update on the search to fill these soon-to-be vacant positions. Benjamin announced her resignation on July 10 and will leave at the end of August, and Kezer will depart at the end of this year. Kezer emphasized the importance of having a new chief financial officer in place before the start…

Less than three months after Town Meeting approved changes to Marblehead’s accessory dwelling unit bylaw to comply with a new state law, town officials are still working to determine exactly how the regulations should be implemented. Learning the process The Affordable Homes Act, signed into law in 2024, allows one accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, by right on most residential lots across Massachusetts. While municipalities may adopt reasonable regulations, they cannot require a special permit for qualifying ADUs. From left, attorney Matthew Wolverton and architect…