Southampton Select Board hears FY27 budget preview without quorum

Select Board · Meeting of February 25, 2026

Southampton Select Board previews fiscal year 2027 budget without a quorum, taking no formal votes. Meeting Wednesday, two board members heard pitches from the town clerk, treasurer-collector, and town accountant covering a wide range of line items. Town Clerk Lucy requested an election expense budget of $9,500, up from a prior $7,950 actual spend, and flagged a $5,300 poll-pad purchase as a priority.

Town Treasurer-Collector Megan pegged the group health active line at $1,475,000, potentially dropping to $1,351,000 under the best-case GIC enrollment scenario, compared with a projected $1.84 million had the town remained in the Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust. She also set aside a $25,000 placeholder for run-out claims from that trust exit, which she said could ultimately range "from zero to 500" thousand dollars. Town Accountant Bradley reported the fiscal year 2024 audit is close to complete and that the town has been without a credit rating for roughly four years; Town Administrator Scott said the board will separately take up a capital plan presentation and a proposal, heading to town meeting, to convert the treasurer-collector from an elected to an appointed position.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of February 25, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.