Nahant Finance Committee Receives $1 Million Override Proposal to Fund Four New Firefighters

NAHANT — February 12, 2026 — Nahant Finance Committee receives dual-budget FY27 plan with $1 million operating override option. Town Administrator Allison presented two competing spending scenarios at the February 12 Finance Committee meeting: a level-services budget of $16.9 million and a $17.9 million override budget contingent on voter approval. The override's centerpiece is four new full-time firefighters, each adding roughly $32,000 in family health insurance costs to the town's tab, on top of salary — responding to what Allison and committee member Rob Thibault, a former call firefighter, described as near-illegal staffing conditions in which the department sometimes sends only two people to a structure fire. A $1 million override would raise the average tax bill by $730, lifting the residential rate from $8.99 to an estimated $9.68 per thousand — still among the lowest 50 in the state. Total FY27 revenues are projected roughly $80,000 below FY26 levels, driven by $273,000 less in available free cash. Newly appointed Finance Director Ed Locke attended his first committee meeting after being confirmed by the Board of Selectmen the previous evening.