Council receives OPEB actuarial reports and discusses long-term pension options

The council received the FY25 OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits) actuarial reports and moved to place them on file. During the discussion, a speaker identified as Kennedy summarized statewide municipal trends: he said OPEB and cash payments have grown at an average compound rate of about 8% since 2020 and currently amount to approximately $205,000 annually; he reported that the town maintains about $35,000 in an OPEB account. Kennedy recommended the council create an ad hoc group consisting of the town administrator, the town finance director, members of the pension and budget committees, and public members to evaluate whether to move from a pay-as-you-go model to a formal trust structure and, separately, to examine whether the town should change from a defined-benefit pension plan to a defined-contribution plan.

Council accepted the reports and placed them on file. No formal policy change was adopted; Kennedy's recommendations were forwarded for future consideration.