The Massachusetts legislature has stripped local zoning and site plan review authority over battery energy storage systems (BESS) through the 2024 Climate Act. These facilities, now protected like religious institutions under an expanded Dover Amendment, pose serious fire, explosion, and contamination risks to nearby homes and water supplies, overriding municipal oversight.

Westford officials reviewed the town’s employee health insurance program, finding it competitive, solvent, and popular with employees, but vulnerable to rising costs, legislative changes, and claims risk. Consultants outlined savings options, including state and joint purchasing plans, while warning that cost reductions could shift burdens to employees and create friction.