(Feb. 17, 2026) – The Town of Ayer has learned its health insurance costs will rise by 6.2 percent in FY2027, a much lower-than-expected increase, according to the Select Board meeting video from Tuesday.
The health insurance increase will add about $161,688 to the budget, much less than the 20 percent – or $500,000 increase – the town projected last November. After this forecast, the town’s health insurance provider had actually advised it should plan for a 22 to 25 percent increase.
The costs changed so dramatically because the town’s health insurer voted on its position related to covering weight loss drugs, according to the meeting discussion. The insurer works with communities across the state, as well as the Ayer-Shirley Regional School District.
Later in the meeting, the town manager made a recommendation that the Select Board approve a 2 percent COLA, which the board did with a 3-0 vote.
The COLA process is outlined in the Town of Ayer’s financial policies. This applies to non-union town employees not covered by a Collective Bargaining agreement, elected officials receiving a stipend as well as the Call Firefighters. During the meeting, it was noted that this includes the library.
According to the meeting discussion, the 2 percent COLA will have a $65,000 impact to the FY2027 budget. Two percent has been the town’s approach for the past 14 years.
During the COLA discussion, the manager shared the town’s research, also noting that town employees would see the health insurance increase. In Ayer, he said the town pays 75 percent of employee health insurance costs and the employees cover 25 percent.
It was also stated that all collective bargaining agreements in town have a contractual 2 percent COLA.
We went looking on the Town of Ayer’s website to see if we could find out how many employees will receive the $65,000 in COLA increases voted on last night. We checked the town’s budget book and we didn’t find this exact number.
As we step away from this question, we want to take a moment to incorporate the budget book into our coverage. If you have never used the budget book, you can usually find it on the web page associated with the Town Meeting dates. Click on one of the meeting dates and you should see BUDGET BOOK listed at the top.
According to the budget book, the Town of Ayer has 112 benefits eligible employees for the FY2026 budget process (the current year). We checked as of Feb. 18th and the website shows the budget book was last updated on Jan. 21, 2026.
Here is the number of employees by town department:
- Town Hall: 26
- Police Department: 42
- Fire Department: 32
- Department of Public Works: 28
- Library: 11
- Council on Aging: 5
- Parks Department: 22
We are sharing a screenshot of the chart in case you want to check the notes about full-time vs. part-time employee details. This is important context when you look at the Parks Department, where most of the employees are seasonal or part-time maintenance. This is according to the budget book; we did not contact the Town of Ayer to check these numbers.
March 25th: The Town of Ayer will hold a public budget forum on March 25th, where residents can learn about the FY2027 numbers.
