Belmont Warrant Committee previews paramedic training, pension, and library articles

BELMONT -- April 22, 2026, Belmont Warrant Committee reviews $125,000 paramedic pilot, pension gap, and hybrid meeting petition ahead of May Town Meeting votes. Meeting in information-only session Wednesday, the nine-member committee heard Town Administrator Patrice Garvin warn that a regional shortage of paramedics is threatening Belmont's advanced life support program, which she said generates more than $1 million annually; Article 26 would appropriate $125,000 from free cash for a two-year pilot training program developed with the firefighters union. Finance Director Matt Taylor disclosed that a Retirement Board proposal to raise the pension cost-of-living base from $13,000 to $15,000 would add roughly $500,000 to FY27 costs "not currently in the budget," a figure Garvin said leaves the budget out of balance if the retirement board does not adjust its funding schedule. The committee also reviewed citizen petitioner Mike Crowley's home rule petition for permanent hybrid town meeting authority, noting that a statewide authorization expires in June 2027, and heard Tom Foley present a revised bylaw to move the Annual Town Meeting warrant closing date to the Friday before February school vacation week. The committee takes formal positions on all May-session articles at its April 29 meeting.