Rehoboth Board of Selectmen unanimously overhauls retiree health benefits, creates financial planning committee

REHOBOTH -- June 15, 2026, Rehoboth Board of Selectmen votes unanimously to restructure retiree health benefits and creates a long-range financial planning committee. The board, chaired by Anthea Brady and including members Paris Bianni, Michelle Pryor, Mike Bencourt, and Vice Chair Bill McGonigal, approved moving all current and future retirees to a 50 percent premium-sharing level, increasing Medicare Part B support for existing retirees from roughly $109 to $200 per month, and eliminating Part B benefits for employees who retire after August 1, 2026, changes affecting approximately 605 retirees, two-thirds of them former school department employees, at a cost growing 8.8 percent annually. A separate five-tier pharmacy benefit proposal was placed under continued review after Pryor flagged unresolved questions about its impact on existing retirees. The board also unanimously approved a $1 million interfund advance from free cash to a solar panel fund to meet a federal credit deadline ahead of a planned March 2027 bond issuance, accepted a $200,000 amphitheater donation from the Rotary Club of Winchester for the library grounds, appointed Fred Huber to the Wrightlock Farm Conservancy board, and created a bimonthly Long-Range Financial Planning Committee modeled on Arlington's standing fiscal body, with at-large positions to be posted immediately.