Belmont Select Board Signs Watertown Therapeutic Recreation Agreement, Reviews Policy Reforms

BELMONT -- March 9, 2026, Belmont Select Board signs therapeutic recreation pact with Watertown and reviews sweeping policy reforms. The board voted unanimously Monday to approve an inter-municipal agreement with the City of Watertown creating a jointly funded, full-time Therapeutic Recreation Specialist position to run the Belmont-Watertown Sport Program, which serves more than 250 individuals with intellectual disabilities. Belmont employs and carries liability for the position while Watertown reimburses half of salary and benefits; the agreement went to the Watertown City Council the following evening. Town Administrator Patrice Garvin briefed the board on the Group Insurance Commission's newly set FY27 rates, a 9 percent increase, "considerably lower" than Belmont's current self-insured trajectory, and warned that health care is among the largest drivers of a projected FY28 budget gap, with MIBAC Chair Tom Caputo noting regional school assessments and shared services add roughly $100,000 to the pressure. Member Elizabeth Eon put the stakes plainly: "Lexington recently announced it had to find nearly $5 million in cuts, and Lexington is much larger and wealthier than we are." Vice Chair Taylor Yates walked the board through three draft administrative policies, delegating small donations and routine contracts to the town administrator, and streamlining land use permits, with revised drafts targeted for the March 23 meeting.