Residents will gather for the Annual Town Meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 18, at Shepherd Hill Regional High School, where a proposed $31 million budget and several policy questions are set for consideration. 

The Select Board and Finance Committee are asking voters to approve a $31,027,502 operating budget for Fiscal Year 2027 that begins on July 1. The spending plan includes major allocations of approximately $13 million for the Dudley-Charlton Regional School District and $1.2 million for Bay Path Vocational Technical High School. Enterprise funds account for $2.3 million for the water department and $2.4 million for sewer operations. 

Revenue supporting the budget is expected to come largely from $17.6 million in property taxes, supplemented by $2.4 million in state aid, $3.9 million in local receipts, and transfers from stabilization funds, including $252,676 from general stabilization and $578,548 from capital stabilization. 

In addition to the budget, voters will be asked to weigh in on a firearms-related policy proposal. Police Chief Marek Karlowicz is seeking approval to exempt municipal buildings, grounds, and parking areas from being designated as prohibited locations for firearm possession under state law. 

Several warrant articles are sponsored by the Water-Sewer Commission, which is backing six of the 17 items on the agenda. Among them are end-of-year budget transfers, a $75,000 transfer from retained earnings to replace a sewer department truck, and a $207,505 transfer from the PFAS Settlement Account to address existing PFAS-related debt. Additional requests include borrowing $100,000 to update the town’s inventory of lead and other service lines, along with $120,000 for equipment to support that effort. 

The Select Board is also proposing a change to local alcohol regulations, seeking permission to allow on-premises alcohol consumption between 10 a.m. and noon on Sundays, as well as on the last Monday in May and Christmas Day. 

Meanwhile, the Board of Assessors is requesting $12,000 to fund property value recertification and $21,000 to inspect properties that have not been reviewed in the past decade. 

The full warrant, including all articles to be considered, is expected to be published ahead of the May 18 meeting.