Douglas Finance Committee hears of 50-percent retiree insurance spike, $100,000 budget gap

DOUGLAS — October 14, 2025 — Douglas Finance Committee warned of a 50-plus-percent retiree health insurance rate increase as it began work on the fiscal year 2027 budget. Town Administrator Matt Wojcik told the committee at the October 14 meeting that Aetna, the town's Medicare Advantage carrier through the Massachusetts Strategic Health Group, is seeking the outsized increase, adding roughly $100,000 to the town's share of retiree premiums after the current 50-50 split with retirees. Wojcik described the budget gap as currently standing at approximately $100,000, down from an earlier projection of $300,000, after he revised the local receipts estimate upward from $1.8 million to $2.1 million and identified up to $60,000 in additional ambulance receipts. He called Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School enrollment "a huge wild card," noting BVT's assessment for the prior year rose as much as 13 percent and warning that a new state-mandated lottery admissions system could push Douglas enrollment — and costs — higher. Free cash was certified at $3,593,615, with $764,801 in total free-cash draws proposed across all warrant articles, including a $1,000,000 combined fire station electrical and HVAC project. The committee, newly chaired by Dick Bannenberg with Rob Leonardi elected vice chair, will vote on recommending all 14 warrant articles at its October 28 meeting.