Budgetary matters were the main focus of Monday night’s Board of Health meeting, with the Health Department prepared to enter fiscal year 2027 operating on a budget consistent with the town’s guidelines.

“The message was level service, level budget,” explained chair Nasiba Mannan.

Health Director Shaun McAuliffe reported that he had received the budget messaging from Town Hall and used it to prepare the department’s FY 27 budget. He went on to inform the board that he had since submitted that budget to the town for review.

“We agreed we could run the department as level-budgeted from last year,” said McAuliffe. 

The Health Department’s proposed budget for FY 27 is $589,013. Around $364,000 of that covers salaries, while $136,000 will pay for hourly wages. Those hours are paid out to the per diem nurses and other department staff, particularly for overtime. The remaining $88,000 covers expenses such as medical services, memberships and dues, training, mileage and more.

“It’s a 3.31% increase in the salary wage line and 2.3% over the operating budget, so we’re within the budget [messaging],” McAuliffe told the board.

“I am impressed,” said Mannan. “I think this is a good budget to present to [the town].”

During the budget review, comments from public health nurse Simone Carter prompted discussion over the capacity of the department to increase salaries, particularly for the nursing staff. She raised concerns over whether the FY 27 salary line item should keep up with cost of living.

“It should, in a perfect world, but it doesn’t,” replied McAuliffe.

This prompted further back and forth between board members about the value of the work of department staff — in particular, nursing staff — and whether or not it was possible to develop pay rates competitive with the market. 

“It has to be compared with the going rate for the job in the [industry],” said member Malcolm Smith. 

“There’s been a disconnect for years,” said Carter. “It is very acutely felt, especially by those employees that don’t have collective bargaining.” She went on to assert that if the pay rate remained uncompetitive, “then you’re going to continue to see the talent leave.”

Vice chair Mary Jo Ondrechen reminded the board that department salaries get voted on at Town Meeting. She noted that with the right data, it was possible to show the town that the Health Department’s staff are underpaid relative to other municipalities and industry rates.

“Perhaps we could make a persuasive case,” Ondrechen mused.

Assistance needed to feed residents

The Board of Health also set aside time during its meeting to hear about actions the Health Department is taking to help residents impacted by food insecurity. 

McAuliffe painted a tough picture of the current situation in Hopkinton and the surrounding communities. He informed the board that the Greater Boston Food Bank, which provides about 16,500 pounds of food to local nonprofit Project Just Because weekly, cannot provide more assistance.

While the U.S. Senate has voted to end the government shutdown and work toward restoring Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, the timeline to reopen the government has yet to be determined. Gov. Maura Healey encouraged Massachusetts residents to use their SNAP benefits following a recent federal court ruling. In the meantime, town departments and local nonprofits have been looking for ways to support community members dealing with related food insecurity.

About 4% of Hopkinton’s residents — about 715 in total — rely on food stamps to pay for food. McAuliffe noted that of those 715, “about 500 of those manage perfectly well on their own.” The rest utilize PJB’s food pantry in some capacity.

McAuliffe claimed that should PJB need to accommodate those 500 individuals, it would be forced to stop providing food to individuals from other communities. PJB serves between 950-1,200 people a week and has been able to shift some need to other local food pantries.

“We need to be buying food,” McAuliffe concluded, also noting that more volunteer labor would be needed to handle increased need. He informed the board that he and other town leaders are working on sitting down with regional grocers to figure out how to meet the growing need.

“Shaun’s thinking more ahead than most,” Carter said.