Plymouth Select Board Adopts Hiring Freeze as $1.1M Budget Shortfall Deepens

PLYMOUTH -- December 30, 2025, Plymouth Select Board ends 2025 with a $1.1 million budget shortfall and an immediate hiring freeze. Town Manager Derek Brindisi told the board at the December 30 meeting that post-presentation analysis had uncovered the new gap, driven by health insurance premiums rising more than 14 percent and GLP-1 drug costs that could push toward $4 million annually. To cover the shortfall, Brindisi proposed drawing an additional $700,000 from excess levy capacity and cutting $400,000 from the roads budget, leaving the town with just $300,000 in remaining levy room. The board also unanimously adopted long-overdue updates to its internal policies and procedures, the first revision since a 1998 draft, and heard an introductory department overview from new Planning and Development Director Lauren Lind, who flagged significant staffing gaps and outlined plans to streamline permitting and complete the town's first comprehensive plan in more than two decades. The board voted unanimously to approve a retirement proclamation for WATD Radio Plymouth correspondent Roberta "Bobby" Clark, who covered town government for 25 years.