Subcommittee C backs FY27 Plymouth public-safety budget with 4-0-0 recommendation

Advisory and Finance Committee Subcommittee C voted 4-0-0 on Feb. 18, 2026, to recommend the Select Board's proposed FY27 public-safety budget for Plymouth to the full board. The subcommittee's record shows a proposed increase of $3.45 million (9.2%) for public safety overall, with the police and fire departments accounting for the largest shares of the rise.

The police budget is the largest single component of the public-safety request. Leadership noted in the department synopsis that the FY27 police total rises to $19.57 million, an 11.1% increase from the FY26 revised figure. That change reflects a 16.9% increase in salaries and wages (including a required 2% cost-of-living adjustment and funding for projected new hires), funding for 10 new police cruisers, and a year-three transition of body-worn camera operating costs from ARPA funds into the operating budget. The department also reported it is currently short staffed by 16 officers and one sergeant; the budget documents cite increased uniform allowances and higher R&M equipment costs tied to the body-worn camera program.

The Fire Department's FY27 proposal likewise rises, with the department's total at $19.34 million in the Select Board's proposal. The department reported 140 uniformed members and operation from seven stations; the record attributes approximately $179,781 of the department's increased spending to state requirements that new firefighter turnout gear be free of PFAS and to replacement of certain thermal-imaging equipment with handheld devices intended to aid firefighter safety and victim location. Departmental equipment and other expense lines were otherwise shown as largely flat in the FY27 plan.

Emergency Management will see a modest net increase driven in part by a shift in salary coverage from grant funding toward municipal funding (noted as a change from roughly 70/30 to 80/20 grant coverage for the director's salary), contractual increases, and an allocation for combined dispatch costs shared by police, fire, and EMS. The Emergency Management total in the proposed FY27 budget is $1.52 million, up about $48,404 (3.3%).

The Harbormaster's FY27 total is slightly lower than FY26 by $4,457, with higher personnel costs offset by reduced equipment spending; the department plans to acquire mooring-management software (about $10,000) and reported that an Assistant Harbormaster position was approved in FY26.

Energy & Environment, under leadership identified as David Gould, is proposing targeted initiatives aimed at cost containment and revenue: reworking the beach-sticker program, adjusting municipal EV charging rates, selectively acquiring EV vehicles to use town charging stations, and proposing new solar projects to reduce electricity costs. Its FY27 proposed budget shows a modest 1.9% increase overall.

The subcommittee record also notes a few specific funding items: $202,467 approved at the April 2025 Town Meeting for an armored vehicle replacement (Burkes Law funds) will be returned because the police department is not moving forward with that purchase; a remaining $1,879.49 from a storage-building-improvements allocation approved in April 2021 will also be returned. The police summary lists two additional cruisers whose purchase the Select Board voted to pay for from Free Cash separate from the FY27 request.

Votes at a glance: Subcommittee C recommended approval of the FY27 Select Board proposed public-safety budget by a 4-0-0 vote. Recorded affirmative votes are listed in the meeting record as Gail Butler (Chair), Thomas Jacintho, Briana Keating, and Myles Ramey. The recommendation will be forwarded to the Select Board for its consideration.

The meeting record closes with the subcommittee expressing appreciation for the public-safety staff and their service to the town.