Plymouth voters fund holiday celebrations but draw line on retirement reform and Town Square

Plymouth will spend $50,000 on its 4th of July celebration and another $50,000 on Thanksgiving events after Town Meeting approved both appropriations by wide margins. The 4th of July committee raised just $18,000 last year, down from previous years, and its emergency fund is now nearly gone. “We have had a bad year for the last six years,” said Matt Tavares, who leads the 4th of July efforts. The vote for July funding was 134 to 15; Thanksgiving funding passed 155 to 17. No vocal opposition emerged.

A proposal to scale back retirement health benefits for future town employees failed decisively. The current policy requires taxpayers to cover up to 90% of retirees’ health insurance premiums—a benefit union members say they accepted in lieu of higher wages. Lisa Murray, negotiation chair for the Plymouth teachers’ contract, said union members have taken annual raises of just 2% to 3%, often below inflation. The petition, led by Richard Serkey, targeted only new hires. It lost 112 to 34.

Members also rejected spending on a redesign of Town Square that would have added trees and permeable pavers to replace asphalt and concrete. Some members wanted to wait for state funding decisions on phase one of the downtown resiliency project—covering Main Street and Court Street—before moving forward. Though the town’s climate resiliency planner said phase two did not depend on phase one’s funding, the motion failed 77 to 69.

Town Meeting approved shifting its spring session from April to the third Saturday in May and moving the town election from May to the second Saturday in June. Select Board member Kevin Canty argued the change will let voters and officials see state aid numbers before making budget decisions. The vote was 117 to 37. Former town clerk Laurence Pizer warned the later election could reduce turnout.

By a vote of 78 to 63, members enacted a bylaw limiting police cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Plymouth now joins Boston, Cambridge, and other Massachusetts municipalities with similar restrictions. Police Chief Dana Flynn said his department has not been asked to assist ICE and expressed concern about minor wording differences between his 2025 policy and the new bylaw. Members voted to codify the restriction anyway.