MONTAGUE — Town Meeting members will weigh in on addressing an unexpected $274,600 mid-year health insurance increase and a citizen’s petition seeking to declare Montague an apartheid-free community at a Special Town Meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 22.
These two proposals join 14 other articles addressing the rezoning of the former Farren Care Center lot; a 16-year payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement with Kearsarge Energy, which owns three solar fields in town; and approval of non-union and police wage scales, among other financial and bylaw articles that will be taken up starting at 6:30 p.m. in the Turners Falls High School auditorium.
To help prepare the 126 Town Meeting members, a pre-Town Meeting was held to allow time for questions and discussion of the articles on Wednesday, Oct. 15. The meeting, led by Town Administrator Walter Ramsey and interim Moderator Elizabeth Irving, went over the expectations of Town Meeting members, as well as the content of the 16 articles.
Health insurance
The “big-ticket” item, Ramsey said, is Article 5, which seeks to cover a $274,600 mid-year increase in employee health insurance costs by raising $250,600 through taxation and $24,000 from the sewer revenue.
This rate hike follows the 20% insurance increase approved in July by the Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust (HCGIT) to avoid the trust falling into bankruptcy amid an increase in insurance claims driven largely by expensive weight-loss drugs. This 20% increase is on top of an Annual Town Meeting-approved 18% increase that came before the start of fiscal year 2026, bringing that budget line to nearly $2.93 million.
“This is tough, but to be fair, Montague is not alone,” Ramsey told residents.
The trust has 73 member organizations, which have more than 12,000 active and retired public employees working for many municipalities in Hampshire and Franklin counties, as well as water and fire districts, regional schools and other government entities. In Montague, the trust covers Town Hall employees, as well as the Turners Falls Fire District.
Since the town is locked in with the Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust for this fiscal year, Ramsey said the town can’t “jump ship” to another provider, and the $274,600 will cover the remaining cost for FY26. Still, Montague is looking at its options to potentially switch insurance providers next fiscal year.
“We are looking into other insurance providers,” Ramsey said. “We’ve taken meetings with several different providers and, as you can imagine, dozens of other towns are doing the same thing.”
Lynn Reynolds of Precinct 1 asked if the town is feeling the impact of health insurance changes to Medicaid coverage in light of the changes made through President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Ramsey said this is something the town isn’t experiencing, but he can consult with the trust to prepare for potential impacts.
John Hanold of Precinct 5 asked how the choice was made to raise the $274,600 through a combination of taxation and sewer revenue, rather than through free cash. Town Accountant Angelica Desroches explained that the town expects increased health insurance costs to be a recurring expense.
“The thought process was that this is going to be a continuing cost,” Desroches said. “By funding it through free cash, we would only be delaying the hit to the budget into FY27.”
Anti-apartheid citizen’s petition
The final article on the warrant, Article 16, is a citizen’s petition seeking to declare Montague an apartheid-free community as an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
This petition article is being brought forward by Montague residents with the western Massachusetts chapter of Apartheid-Free Communities, which has received Town Meeting member support and more than 100 signatures from community members. The resolution looks to recognize the equal rights of all people, and the discriminatory treatment and human rights abuses against the Palestinian people by Israel.
Apartheid-Free Communities formed in 2022. Amnesty International, a non-governmental organization headquartered in the United Kingdom that focuses on human rights, led a study from July 2017 to November 2021 on information collected from stakeholders, non-governmental organizations, United Nations agencies, academic and legal scholars, and journalists, to conclude that Israel is engaged in apartheid against Palestinians.
The measure is nonbinding and represents the desire of Montague residents to be in solidarity with the Palestinian people and to “build an apartheid-free world, starting with our own community.”
Notably, this measure would make Montague the first community in Massachusetts to adopt this pledge from Apartheid-Free Communities. Several communities in Vermont have adopted this language, and a resolution focused on municipal divestment from companies providing financial support to Israel has passed in Northampton.
Maddox Sprengel of Precinct 4 shared the relevance of passing the resolution in Montague.
“I know often our focus falls most closely to hyperlocal issues, but we know that we’re connected beyond our town,” Sprengel said, adding, “So many residents that I’ve spoken to are desperate to take action, and this article offers us an entry point to come together to build action steps for what we might be able to do next.”
Attendee Kaia Jackson asked Sprengel about how this pledge can be implemented in the community. Sprengel replied that this could be done through working groups of interested citizens who could examine town policies, procedures and investments, and separate them from “oppressive systems.”
Other articles on the Special Town Meeting warrant include: allocating $50,000 to rehabilitate culverts on South Street; accepting the provisions of the state’s HERO Act, allowing for property tax exemption for veterans; discontinuing and abandoning the 1969 public roadway layout of Burek Drive, and accepting a revised public roadway layout; allocating $19,559 to pay unpaid bills from the prior fiscal year; and spending $12,500 to buy and install cable-related equipment for Montague Community Television. The full warrant is available at montague-ma.gov/p/1596/2025-10-22-Special-Town-Meeting.