Weymouth Council Sends $210 Million FY25 Budget to Committee for Review

WEYMOUTH -- April 22, 2024, Weymouth Town Council referred a $205 million fiscal year 2025 operating budget to committee Monday after Mayor Robert Hedlund and Chief of Staff Ted Langell described it as the most challenging spending plan in nine years. The council voted unanimously to send 33 budget-related measures to the Budget Management Committee, which will review them line by line over roughly six weeks before a full council vote. A double-digit health insurance increase of 11 percent, adding $2.7 million in fixed costs, forced the administration to propose the town's first trash collection fee hike in 19 years, raising the standard annual fee from $100 to $168 and the senior rate from $60 to $100, generating $1.2 million in new revenue. The council also unanimously approved a $750,000 free-cash transfer to purchase a new fire engine, replacing a 2003 reserve truck with 178,676 miles, with delivery expected by September 2025. Rachel Carlisle, director of assessing in Cohasset and a holder of the Massachusetts Accredited Assessor designation, was confirmed as an alternate member of the Board of Assessors for a term running through June 30, 2026.