Town Administrator Rick LaFond is pleased to announce that Mr. Joseph Wigglesworth has been appointed to the position of Town Planner.  Mr. Wigglesworth has served as the town’s Conservation Agent and has also worked closely with the previous Town Planner who recently retired, Ann Morgan. Since his tenure as Conservation Agent, Mr. Wigglesworth has worked in the land use and regulatory field for many years. In addition to serving as Conservation Agent, he had been Chair of the Conservation Commission for over five years. He worked for approximately 20 years as Education and Project Manager for the Mass. Association of Conservation Commissions and is proficient in site plan project review, municipal/state/federal laws and regulations, land use permitting, project management, and, most importantly, working with and providing professional support to boards and committees. Wigglesworth was the lead in securing the $500,000 Community Development Grant Award which was the engineering portion of the project to address transportation and safety deficiencies to ultimately make the Main Street area more attractive for future commercial and residential investment, spur economic development, and to realize long-term revitalization and economic stability for the Main Street corridor. The former planner, Ms. Ann Morgan, had recommended Wigglesworth and has committed to working with him during the transition process.

In other developments, the town’s land use departments and Town Administrator LaFond have been in dispute with the Douglas Forest campground, formerly Webster Family Campground, over year-round operations. The owner believes that his improvements to meet the health and building requirements allow him to open year-round, however, the property is not zoned for year-round habitation. The town’s position enforcing the seasonal campground limitation has already been upheld twice by the courts in their dealings with the previous owner.

The owner of 4 Bartlett Street, located off of South Main Street, has had documented violations of property usage by the Town Building Commissioner of the injunction order for compliance with the town’s zoning bylaws. The owner ceased the violations after conversation with the Building Commissioner. The site will now be inspected daily to determine if a pattern of violations will continue or if this was a one-time breach of the injunction. The town is prepared to seek a contempt charge if violations resurface. If the location maintains compliance, charges will not be filed. 

Town Administrator LaFond states that “Webster’s town departments will soon be submitting their budgets for fiscal year 2027. Currently, there isn’t any update (nor is there any expected at this date) from the state regarding the level of aid, or the status of the proposal to establish a commission to review distribution of Chapter 70 aid to cities and towns. The Governor’s proposed “Municipal Empowerment Act” which is designed to provide some level of assistance to municipalities unfortunately does not provide any meaningful financial assistance to assist local government finances. Only three provisions could provide some benefit. The first is a proposal that would, at local option, allow the maximum meals tax a municipality can establish from .75% to 1%. Webster received $426,433 in meals tax in FY 2025. If adopted this would only provide approximately $100,000 in additional revenue. This additional revenue is of little help. The process for adopting the meals tax and amendments is through a vote at town meeting. Town meeting may also accept a provision that would allow a surcharge of 5% on motor vehicle excise tax bills that can be dedicated to stabilization funds. In Fiscal Year 2025 we collected approximately $2,460,000 in motor vehicle excise taxes which translates to approximately $125,000 for Webster. A proposal to establish a commission to study funding of OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits) could be of value. However, for this provision to be approved and for a commission to study the matter and make recommendations, this would need to progress through the legislative process and is unrealistic for Fiscal Year 2027. All departments have been requested to submit their annual budget requests as well as a budget based upon a 5% reduction from level service. An impact statement will accompany the reduced budget proposal.”