Halifax Finance Committee Recommends 2% Pay Raise, Advances Most Town Warrant Articles

HALIFAX — April 6, 2026 — Halifax Finance Committee unanimously recommends 2% cost-of-living raise for non-union town workers, holds PFAS fund on scope dispute. The seven-member committee reversed a proposed zero-percent increase for the town's 14 non-union employees, voting 7-0 to recommend a 2% cost-of-living adjustment under Article 1 at an estimated cost of approximately $31,000, to be funded from free cash or the Proposition 2.5 override reserve if the override passes. Town Administrator Steve Sobo said the operating budget sits roughly $15,000 in the black after cuts and that all five active union bargaining units are seeking cost-of-living increases, a point that committee member E.J. Bryan called directly relevant: "I just don't think that's a reasonable recommendation from my perspective," he said of the zero option. The panel voted 7-0 to recommend the $1.5 million override contingency budget under Article 3B, but held Articles 19 and 20 — which would establish and fund a PFAS settlement stabilization fund — after member Frank Johnston argued the fund's water-commissioner-controlled language may not cover PFAS monitoring costs at the closed town landfill, where quarterly testing alone cost an additional $44,000 this year; Halifax has received more than $700,000 in PFAS settlement proceeds to date with more settlements anticipated.