Lexington Select Board faces $4.7 million budget gap heading into town meeting

LEXINGTON -- December 4, 2025, Lexington Select Board confronts a $4.7 million FY27 budget deficit driven by a projected 15 percent health insurance premium increase. Finance Director Carolyn Kosnoff told the board Thursday the health insurance line alone is rising more than $5 million, part of a total employee benefits increase of $5.2 million, or roughly 12.8 percent, and that the Group Insurance Commission will not set final rates until late February. Town Manager Steve Bartha said the town plans to lean on one-time revenues to balance the budget, calling it "not ideal." The board also heard a $63,208 Program Improvement Request for a full-time housing case coordinator from Youth and Family Services Manager Penny Hogan, who cited a surge in eviction-related calls and noted 1,200 Lexington households rely on SNAP benefits. The Department of Innovation and Technology reported a rare budget decrease of $90,407, or 2.68 percent, crediting a migration to Microsoft 365 that is eliminating roughly 12 legacy software contracts.