# Finance Committee Meeting - September 21, 2026


**Body:** Marlborough MA Meetings on WMCT-TV
**Date:** September 20, 2026
**Jurisdiction:** SLED

**Tags:** Public Safety, Information Technology, Physical Infrastructure, Grants & Funding


The Marlborough, MA Finance Committee meeting on September 21, 2026, focused primarily on the proposed intermunicipal agreement (IMA) between the City of Marlborough and the Town of Hullbrook to regionalize public safety dispatch services by July 2028. The discussion highlighted the challenges Marlborough faces with its current dispatch center, including staffing shortages, increasing overtime costs, and outdated technology. The regionalization plan aims to provide a stable, technologically advanced, and cost-effective dispatch operation, leveraging Hullbrook's award-winning regional emergency communications center. The state is expected to cover 100% of the assessment costs for the first three years, significantly reducing Marlborough's financial burden initially. Committee members discussed operational details such as staffing increases, technology upgrades funded by state grants (potentially over $6 million), and the impact on local dispatchers. The meeting included a motion to approve the IMA and an ordinance amendment to allow regional dispatch services, both of which were moved forward for consideration. Concerns were raised about the distance to Hullbrook, local knowledge of the area, and political challenges in regionalization efforts, but overall, the committee recognized the benefits of joining a larger, well-established regional dispatch center to meet growing public safety demands.

**Source:** Marlborough MA Meetings on WMCT-TV