Belmont Warrant Committee Rejects Retiree COLA Increase 15-2 Before Town Meeting

BELMONT — May 13, 2026 — Belmont's Warrant Committee voted 2-15 against recommending a retiree cost-of-living adjustment increase, sending a contentious retirement funding fight to Town Meeting on May 18. The article would raise the COLA base from $13,000 to $15,000, worth $5 more per month to eligible retirees, but the retirement board coupled it with a plan to hold annual appropriations level at $11.8 million through 2031, creating a projected $10.6 million balloon payment in fiscal year 2032. Actuary Kathy Riley confirmed the true additional interest cost of the payment-schedule shift is roughly $800,000, but members argued the deferred principal represents unacceptable long-term risk given looming override planning. The School Committee also voted 6-0 against the measure. Retirement Board Chair Tom Gibson, who noted 321 of 351 Massachusetts municipalities already have a higher COLA base than Belmont, told the committee the board would make its case directly to Town Meeting — and pointed out that a similar Warrant Committee no-recommendation in 2017 was overridden by Town Meeting in 2018. The committee separately approved a $485,322 draw from its reserve fund to cover a snow and ice deficit, leaving $14,668 in the fund.