Hampden Select Board Approves $128,799 in Year-End Transfers, Advances Fire Station Lot Work

Select Board · Meeting of July 13, 2026

Hampden Select Board approves $128,799 in year-end budget transfers and hears sobering health insurance update. Meeting with two of three members present, Chair John Boulter and member Don Davenport unanimously approved a package of line-to-line and reserve fund transfers to close out fiscal year deficits driven primarily by utility cost overruns and an unexpected retirement payout for accrued benefits. Town Treasurer Dick Beaudry briefed the board on the Scanning Valley Regional Health Trust, a self-insured pool of six government entities, warning that a multiyear surplus used to hold down rate increases "finally caught up with us" — the trust ran claims at roughly 120 percent of premiums last year, producing an 11 percent rate increase and leaving reserves approximately $245,000 below the required 12-percent-of-claims threshold.

The board also moved to unblock the new fire station project by directing an Approval Not Required submission to the Planning Board to formally separate two lots on the site, and accepted with regret the resignation of Planning Board member Christina Moscaro, who is relocating to Wyoming effective July 23.

In the full story:

• Other items discussed individually included
• Brian (staff) reported several administrative updates
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,088 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of July 13, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.