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Friday, October 30, 2026 Ashland, Massachusetts · Change town
Government · Select Board

Select Board Approves Town Manager's Exit Deal

The Ashland Select Board approved an addendum ending Town Manager Michael Herbert's nearly 14-year tenure and voted 5-0 on a mutual aid conflict waiver and a Telechron clock fund transfer.

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Select Board · Meeting of August 5, 2026

ASHLAND — The Ashland Select Board approved an addendum ending Town Manager Michael Herbert's nearly 14-year tenure and voted 5-0 on a mutual aid conflict waiver and a Telechron clock fund transfer. DPW Director Dan Mauer and Deputy Director Becca Navarro presented a new pavement rating system showing it would cost $25 million to fix every flagged road, with Prospect Street ranked third for rehabilitation after scoring a 49. Assistant Town Manager Kathryn Bird reported a net $315,730 increase in state aid, split 70-30 between schools and municipal departments.

The board also heard an update on a stalled land dispute on Zero Cross Street, where a resident said "Ashland is required to not allow building" under a Hopkinton special permit, and agreed to seek a formal opinion from Town Counsel Lisa Mead.

In the full story:

  • Who Was There
  • Organizations And Documents Referenced
  • The complete report — 3,027 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of August 5, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.

Members read the rest of this story and every Ashland meeting we cover, in full.

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