Norwell officials say the town’s fiscal 2027 budget is currently balanced on the municipal side, but uncertainty remains around school funding, health insurance costs, and state aid levels.
Town Administrator Darleen Sullivan told the Advisory Board that the town portion of the budget is balanced after departmental reductions and adjustments, while the school budget faces a potential shortfall if funding does not reach desired levels.
“So, we’re balanced right now, we’re looking like no townside override with this balanced budget,” Sullivan said. “The school has a 3% increase, which is about $1.1 million. Matt and school committee are basically saying they need $1.4 [million] to provide level services.”
Sullivan said the gap between the school’s current budget and its preferred funding level is roughly $333,000 to $340,000.
“The last thing we really want to have to do is go and ask for an override for that small dollar amount,” she said.
Budget development has been shaped in part by recent labor negotiations, which Sullivan said required extensive work across departments and unions.
“We had the police contract, we had the fire contract, we had AFSCME, both highway tree and grounds, and we had water,” she said.
Most contracts resulted in cost-of-living increases of about 2%, though police contracts included additional adjustments tied to staffing changes.
“We ended up landing on two percents for all the contracts except for police,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan emphasized that several variables could shift the budget picture, including state aid and health insurance renewal rates.
“Every town we have moving targets,” she said. “One of them is health insurance… And local aid.”
She said Norwell currently budgets local aid conservatively, typically using the governor’s proposal as a baseline.
“What you do usually budget every year off the governor’s budget,” Sullivan said. “It’s usually the most conservative one typically.”
Health insurance remains one of the largest budget pressures, with Sullivan estimating roughly $7.6 million in projected costs under current assumptions.
“I’ve got about 7.6 million in there for health insurance right now in my budget estimates,” she said.
She said the town is planning to pursue a change in health plan design, potentially reducing premiums while introducing deductibles.
“We know for sure we’re going with plan design,” Sullivan said.
The shift would apply to both town and school employees. “It’s town and school,” she said.
Sullivan also highlighted the distribution of health insurance costs between town and school employees.
“The townside… is 23.02% of the total dollars being paid out… and the school is about 76.98%,” she said.
Looking beyond fiscal 2027, Sullivan said her financial projections suggest the town could navigate the next several years with limited overrides if stabilization strategies are used.
“I don’t see right now… that you would need an override in 28,” she said, referring to one scenario involving a pension stabilization fund.
She cautioned, however, that forecasts depend heavily on new growth and disciplined spending.
“If departments don’t stick to their percent of spending… then you’re going to need a bigger vote,” Sullivan said.
Board members indicated they will continue monitoring health insurance proposals, state aid figures and school funding needs as budget discussions progress.
“There’s some options here really working together and have been to try to not have to go for an override if we don’t have to,” Sullivan said.