NAHANT— Residents in Nahant will consider multiple budget options, including overrides, at Town Meeting on May 16, as officials cite rising costs and operational challenges across several departments.
The Advisory and Finance Committee has presented three budget scenarios for fiscal year 2027.
A level-services budget with no override, a $650,000 “modest override,” and a $1 million “full override.”
The level-services budget would maintain existing services while funding contractual increases within the limits of Proposition 2½. However, it would not include additional contributions to stabilization funds or debt reduction and could require a future override.
Both override proposals would increase operating expenses to address inflation pressures, expand education support, and include financial measures such as increasing stabilization fund contributions and paying down debt.
Town officials say revenue growth limited by Proposition 2½ is not sufficient to support the town’s operating costs for FY27, prompting consideration of an override to address “critical needs” identified during the budget process.
A central issue in the override discussion is staffing in the Fire Department. According to the report in the Town Meeting documents, the department faces ongoing difficulty recruiting and retaining call firefighters due to demographic changes, increased training requirements, and shifts in workforce availability.
The modest override would significantly increase funding for call or part-time firefighters, enabling the Fire Chief to recruit, train, and retain personnel.
The full override proposes a more extensive staffing change, adding four full-time firefighters to the current staff of nine, thereby providing an additional firefighter on duty around the clock.
Town Administrator Alison Nieto explained her initial budget process: “I came up with these after going through the budget process with department heads and seeing what their needs were,” she said.
“There are some real needs that some of them have been putting off for years and years. I kind of boiled it down to this million-dollar number, and a majority of that is for the fire department,” she added.
Residents will be receiving a “Report and Recommendations of the Advisory and Finance Committee” booklet in the mail, which will include information in-depth about the overrides as well as a statement from Fire Chief Austin Antrim.
Antrim said, “I would not ask the residents of Nahant to shoulder those costs if I were not 100% certain that it is needed.”
He pointed out that “of the more than 30 fire incidents in Nahant since July 2021, the Nahant Fire Department has never once met the nationally accepted staffing standards for even a low-hazard structure.”
He added, “I genuinely believe that the long-term costs will be far greater if we do not address the staffing problem now.” He also pointed out the future.”
Chair of the Board of Selectmen, Robbert Tibbo, who spent more than 25 years as a call firefighter in Nahant, said he knows firsthand how essential staffing is to the department.
Tibbo said Antrim “is trying to point this out by saying that they can’t function with two firefighters. [They] could get a truck or a ladder to a fire scene, but they can’t go in the building with just two people. They have to have more people.”
He added, “It’s been coming for years.”
Both Tibbo and Nieto emphasized the impact not passing an override would have on public safety. A point that Antrim has made repeatedly within the Town meeting documents and in the booklet that will be delivered in the mail to residents.
“Our call firefighter system is falling apart. So it’s a public safety thing,” Neito said. “I do think that residents should be aware of that.”
Tibbo said that Antrim “wants people to know that we are all responsible for our first responder staffing, whether that’s police or fire. If we’re going to get the services that we need, we’re going to have to pay for them.”
Both override options also include additional funding for the Nahant Public Schools, with a focus on targeted academic support.
The School Department has emphasized the need for a full-time tutor or academic support specialist, along with expanded curriculum and professional development for teachers, to improve student performance and MCAS scores.
The report notes that these investments are intended to strengthen the quality of education and better prepare students for secondary education, while also benefiting the town financially through improved home values and reduced charter school assessments.
In addition to department-specific funding, both override proposals include measures aimed at improving the town’s long-term financial position. These include increasing contributions to the stabilization fund and paying down debt to reduce future interest costs.
The report also notes that FY27 presents a potential opportunity for an override because a 20-year debt obligation related to the Johnson School renovation was completed in 2025, reducing pressure on the tax rate.
If the $1 million override passes, taxes will increase by $604 next year, given that the median single-family home is valued at $900,000, Neito said.
If the $650,000 override passes, taxes would increase by $390.
Town Meeting must approve at least one balanced budget under state law. If Town Meeting does not approve either override, the level-services budget will automatically become the operating budget for FY27.
If an override is approved, the final decision will be made by voters at a town-wide election in June. State law requires that the override receiving a majority vote will determine the town’s budget.
The Advisory and Finance Committee recommended that voters consider all three options, stating that the decision ultimately rests with residents in determining the level and cost of services the town will provide.
