CHESTERFIELD — At annual Town Meeting Monday, the town’s electorate will be asked to approve a 3% budget increase that calls for boosting salaries of town employees, among other measures.

Town Meeting will take place in Town Hall at 403 Main Road, starting at 7 p.m.

The upcoming fiscal year 2026 budget comes in at about $5.1 million, up by $109,373 from the current fiscal year. Increases to education, public works, and wages are the main drivers of the increase.

The combined increase for all three schools the town pays into, including the Hingham Regional Elementary School, Hampshire Regional High School and Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School, is pegged at $42,227, or 2.2% higher than fiscal year 2025.

Town officials have been keenly aware of Chesterfield’s inability to retain town employees, and are seeking to reverse the trend next year by allocating more money for salary increases to these workers.

According to the booklet published by the Finance Committee, put together ahead of Monday’s meeting and on the town’s website, “Chesterfield continues to operate in a tight local labor market that creates ongoing challenges in recruiting and retaining town employees.”

It continues, saying, “The FY2026 budget contains significant increase in salary and wages for the Highway Department, the Council on Aging, and the Police Department. In some cases, these increases incorporate compensation increases made during the 2025 fiscal year in response to hiring and retention challenges. In addition, these increases are intended to fund an increase in services, especially by the Police Department.”

The highway superintendent’s salary, for example, has been proposed to jump from just over $79,000 to over $89,000 this year. Similarly, the Council on Aging director has been allocated $8,000 more, from $21,604 to $29,203, and wages for the police chief and officers would all receive a bump with the OK of town voters.

The largest increase to public works is to pay highway department wages, up from $255,000 in the current year to $284,000 next year.

Most of the 29 articles to be voted on will ask voters to approve using funds from the town’s free cash reserves to fund the town’s various departments.

Article 10 will also ask the town to approve a Future Fire Truck Stabilization Fund to begin the process of saving for a fire truck.

Samuel Gelinas can be reached at sgelinas@gazettenet.com.