NAHANT — Fire Chief Austin Antrim said the proposed $1 million tax levy override could provide the fire department with the necessary help it’s needed for the past 40 years. 

The override is in respect to Massachusetts Law, Proposition 2 ½, which states that the maximum taxes can be increased to 2.5% by the town without resident approval. The $1 million override is the first of two questions on the ballot that will be voted on by residents during the June 24 special election. 

The first question on the ballot is: “Shall the Town of Nahant be allowed to assess an additional $1,000,000 in real estate and personal property taxes for the purpose of funding the operating budgets of the Town and Public Schools for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026?” stated on the Nahant Early Official Ballot. 

The second question on the ballot is: “Shall the Town of Nahant approve the charter amendment proposed by the 2026 Annual Town Meeting to change the posting of the Annual Town Meeting Warrant from fourteen (14) days to seven (7) days?” stated on the Nahant Early Official Ballot. 

Residents will have the option to vote on the override during the June 24 special election, deciding whether the fire department receives additional funding of at least $580,000 in respect to the more than 58% allocation of funds to the fire department. 

“That 58% of the $1 million is what goes into the fire department budget for salaries/wages, and there is an additional amount that is in the general government budget that would cover benefits of the new fire department employees if the override passes,” Antrim said. “So the true cost to the taxpayer for what the fire department is seeking is those two numbers added together, and that may be 62% of the total.” 

Whether or not the override passes, residents’ taxes will increase. Nahant Town Administrator Alison Nieto shared specifics on what the tax expectation will be for residents for both results. 

“If the $1 million operating override does not pass, then it is estimated that the tax rate will increase by $0.01 per thousand of assessed value,” said Nieto. “If the $1 million override passes, it is estimated that the tax rate will increase by an additional $0.68 per thousand of assessed value.” 

That equates to an 8.75% increase in taxes in addition to the current 2.5% cap with Proposition 2 ½. This means residents will see a total 11.25% tax bill on their property in 2027. 

“Based on a median single-family home of $888,500, the estimated annual tax increase would be equal to $604.00,” Robert Vanderslice, chair of the Nahant Advisory and Finance Committee, said. 

That significant increase is necessary for the fire department to be able to properly assist individuals and homes. 

“It’s not an easy time to ask people for more money, but I 100% believe this is necessary to protect the town adequately,” Antrim said. 

The amount of fire risk has exponentially increased in the town, and the small staff has been struggling to effectively manage worsening fires, requiring more hands on deck, Antrim said.

“The town itself has changed, and society has changed over the last 40 years, and homes have become a lot bigger,” Antrim said. “Their design and construction are a lot different and a lot more conducive to fire growth.” 

The fire department’s staff is currently made up of nine full-time firefighters, including the chief. The override that will be voted on June 24 could allow the full-time staff to increase to 13. 

“Currently, we only have two firefighters on duty around the clock. This will increase the staffing to three firefighters on duty around the clock,” Antrim said. 

For the past 120 years, the town has relied on part-time off-duty firefighters, who respond from home or work, and a majority are local to Nahant, Antrim said. What the override would help fund is the outsourcing of more firefighters from neighboring towns like Lynn, Swampscott, Saugus, and Salem. 

In addition to working as firefighters, full-time and part-time staff also operate the ambulance service out of the town. The extra man-power the override’s funding would provide allows an extra crew member to stay in the town, while two transport the individual from Nahant to the closest hospital, ensuring there is someone able to be on call in case another emergency occurs, Antrim said. 

“If passed, if the voters support it, it will increase the staffing to a level that will provide more effective and efficient emergency response, and it will be a lot safer for the firefighters that we do have,” Antrim said. 

The proposed override would offer the Nahant Fire Department consistent funding, allowing part-time employees to work on a shift schedule rather than the outdated on-call practice, as well as providing more training opportunities, Antrim said. 

There are currently 14 part-time firefighters, but two of them have been hired by outside departments, a problem the department has had for a while, he said.

 “We always strive to have about 25 part-time personnel… five years ago, when I took this position, we were down to seven part-time firefighters,” Antrim said. “I’ve been hiring four or five a year and putting them through the fire academy.” 

Due to having only two full-time firefighters working a 24-hour period, mutual aid agreements between Nahant and neighboring towns are necessary, and because of the lack of staff, the department has not been able to provide adequate mutual response to those towns like Lynn, Swampscott, and Marblehead. 

With the desire to reciprocate support to nearby towns and provide firefighters with the help of extra people, Antrim explained what exactly those four new full-time positions mean for the department. 

There are four groups of two full-time firefighters that perform 24-hour shifts twice a week. An extra four full-time officers will add one person to each of those groups, meaning three firefighters would respond to every call rather than two, Antrim said.  

“It’s quite stressful being understaffed, and you know we’ve had a number of our firefighters get injured… every time they go out the door, they don’t have enough help, and that really weighs heavily on me,” he said. 

If question one on the June 24 ballot passes, Antrim shared that he would make the most of the funds that he can. “We will not waste a dollar of that money,” he said. 

What Antrim has hoped for is adequate and effective care of the residents, ensuring their safety and health, but that starts with making sure the responders have sufficient assistance. 

“I see how much they care about the residents, and we should be giving them the support that they deserve and the help that they need,” Antrim said.