Charlton Select Board Approves Health Insurance Switch and Four Volunteer Board Appointments

CHARLTON — May 26, 2026 — Charlton Select Board unanimously transitions town health insurance and awards two scholarships at May 26 meeting. The board voted to enter into joint purchase agreements with the Mass Strategic Health Group and the Southern Worcester County Health Insurance Group, moving the town out of the Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust effective FY2027, while approving a two-month premium holiday for active employees as required by MGL Chapter 32B to distribute 25 percent of first-year premium savings. Town Administrator Andrew Golas also secured a Personnel Policy amendment setting a 75-25 employer-employee health insurance contribution split for all new non-union hires after July 1, 2026. The board awarded the Jessie Smith Scholarship to applicant number 4 on the recommendation of Member Basia Zurawski — "above it all because of the volunteering component" — and the $500 Nehemiah B. Stone Scholarship to the sole applicant, number 3. Four volunteer appointments filled alternate seats on the Conservation Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals, with Aljani Stanley appointed to both bodies simultaneously. The board also heard from Jim Faust of 18 Baker Road, who requested a share of the town's approximately $36,000 in opioid settlement funds for Adam's Parachute, a recovery fly-fishing nonprofit he founded after losing his son to fentanyl poisoning in 2024; a formal application process will be taken up at the June 16 meeting.