Select Board Meeting: November 10, 2026

The November 10, 2026, HCAM Select Board meeting included several spending- and policy-related items. The Board approved its consent agenda as amended, including acceptance of a $91,615 donation from the Hopkinton Public Library Foundation for library uses and a separate donation to the Fire Department (amount not clear in the transcript). It also approved a Chamber of Commerce request to display a Main Street banner, with the dates to be adjusted to comply with the bylaw’s 14-day limit, and a farmers market alcohol license for Aeronaut Sellers LLC subject to state sampling and sales requirements. The Board approved the 2027 Boston Marathon invitational entry policy as written; the town expects 52 entries. It discussed, but did not decide, an intermunicipal water-supply agreement with Ashland, deferring the item to a later meeting.

At the tax-classification hearing, the Board chose a single tax rate for 2027 rather than a split rate, and voted against an open-space discount and residential and small-commercial exemptions. It approved a residential factor of one and Form LA5, each by a 4–1 vote; the assessor cited proposed rates of $14.36 for commercial, industrial, and personal property and $14.38 for residential property, and $132,116.38 in current-year excess capacity. Police chief finalist interviews were held, but the Board deferred its hiring decision to a subsequent meeting. Public comments raised concerns about the selection process, prior investigations, body-worn cameras, and the town’s Flock surveillance-camera arrangement; no new contract award or procurement decision on those matters was made.