Ashland Select Board approves $2.75M school funding measure for May ballot.
Select Board · Meeting of March 18, 2026
Ashland Select Board unanimously backs $2.75M school operational override for May 19 ballot vote. Town Manager Michael Herbert presented a comprehensive FY27 budget addressing staffing shortfalls across emergency services and municipal departments: the Fire Department responded to 2,800 calls in 2025 with 1,000 concurrent incidents, police traffic stops jumped from 500 to over 5,300 annually, and Public Works manages 13 town buildings with only two facilities staff. Herbert proposed $755,000 in General Government increases including one new patrol officer, one firefighter per shift across four shifts, and a new Buildings and Grounds Department director.
The Board also unanimously approved early in-person voting for May 9-14, Housing Production Plan amendments, and authorized Town Manager Herbert to sign a five-year regional stormwater coalition agreement at $4,000 annually.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 429 words
Source: the Select Board meeting of March 18, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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