Bridgewater Finance Committee Faces $2 Million Deficit Heading Into FY27 Budget Season

Finance Committee · Meeting of February 9, 2026

Bridgewater's Finance Committee opened FY27 budget talks Monday facing a projected $2 million deficit in a preliminary $82,032,471 operating plan. Finance staff, presenting alongside Town Manager Justin, told the three-member panel that the town's preliminary school allocation of $30,753,000 falls roughly $8 million short of the superintendent's $39 million request — a gap one member called "not possible" to bridge without cuts on both the municipal and school sides. Employee benefits costs are projected to rise by approximately $1 million year over year, driven by an estimated 14 to 15 percent health insurance premium increase and a 7.26 percent Plymouth County pension assessment.

Motor vehicle excise revenue, the town's top-performing local receipt, came in at $4.8 million in FY2025 but is projected conservatively at just over $4 million for FY27. New growth hit a seven-year low of $521,000 when the December tax rate was set. The committee continued General Ordinance FY25-020 on Clause 22J and unanimously approved acceptance of a donation from the High Pond Resident Association.

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Source: the Finance Committee meeting of February 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.