Special Town Meeting - 10/6/26

Tewksbury Special Town Meeting, held October 6, 2026, considered FY2027 budgets, compensation, capital spending, zoning, and local bylaws. Voters approved an amended municipal pay plan that included an additional $125,000 and the police chief’s contract, passing by secret ballot 170–44. They also approved a $985,380 transfer from general-fund free cash for listed expenditures, including equipment and facility needs; $160,000 from sewer retained earnings; and other water and stormwater enterprise-fund transfers. A school capital account was amended to $727,956 and adopted, and a $220,000 balance was extended for Dewing School work. Additional approvals included $380,000 in Community Preservation funds for high-school field lighting, $50,000 for a maintenance project, and transfers of about $2.75 million to the town stabilization fund and $2.41 million to the debt stabilization fund. Speakers questioned specific proposed costs, including a $10,000 IT-closet mini-split, $140,000 in intersection curbing, a $132,000 fire-department river-access project, and $40,000 for a replacement police canine; no vendor awards were made during the meeting.

Article 15 would have authorized a process to lease school property for a proposed 110-foot cell tower, with an RFP/lease intended to solicit offers, but it failed 142–23; no tower vendor or lease was approved. The town also approved MBTA Communities zoning articles after discussion of approximately $1.7 million in grant funding lost while out of compliance. A proposal to stop mailing printed town-meeting warrants was rejected 152–17. Two surveillance-technology bylaw petitions were referred to an existing advisory subcommittee for review, with the stated intent of reporting to the 2027 Annual Town Meeting; the meeting did not adopt new surveillance rules or authorize related purchases.