Board of Selectmen sets FY27 budget-hearing parameters; departments present initial figures across 11 areas.
Board of Selectmen · Meeting of January 10, 2026
Blackstone selectmen conduct first budget hearing on FY27 spending. Chairman Keefe and the Board reviewed preliminary requests from eleven departments totaling more than $7.3 million in operating costs, with the Police Department ($2,379,156), Fire Department ($1,854,000 after correcting a duplicate position), and Library ($783,935) among the largest. The Fire Department proposed a pilot second ambulance staffed 12 hours daily using per diem paramedics, funded through ambulance receipts via warrant article.
Non-contractual salary increases for Town Clerk Tara Sullivan (9% to $75,000) and Collector/Treasurer Matthew Ryan (14% to $80,000) drew board scrutiny; both officials cited salary-study and professional-association data. Chairman Keefe established protocol requiring all Board member requests to department heads to flow through Town Administrator Chad Lovett, with responses shared among all selectmen. No votes were taken; the Board deferred final action pending Finance Committee vetting and Town Meeting scheduled for late May.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 508 words
Source: the Board of Selectmen meeting of January 10, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
Keep reading with a 14-day free trial
Subscribe to Blackstone News to keep reading this post and get 14 days of free access to the full post archives.
A subscription gets you:
- Subscriber-only posts and full archive
- Post comments and join the community
- 24x7 access to local news