Town meeting closes budget gap, rejects school pact

Town Meeting · Meeting of October 27, 2026

Hubbardston's special town meeting plugged a $275,000 budget gap with free cash and rejected a regional school pact. Interim Town Administrator Tim Bregan said the shortfall emerged after June's annual town meeting set tax rates before fuel costs rose 50 percent to 70 percent; members approved transfers totaling $101,129 and $228,821 from free cash and stabilization funds to cover department budgets and a Worcester Regional Retirement line. Free cash fell from $749,010 to roughly $495,000 as a result.

Select Board Chair Mrs. Young said the board opposed amendments to the Quabbin Regional School Agreement because its emergency-capital cap has stayed at "$5,000... the same dollar amount when they did this agreement 20 years ago, 30 years ago." The agreement failed 31-41. Members also passed over a municipal camping ban to the spring town meeting after land trust representatives said they learned of it for the first time that night.

In the full story:

• Opening business: Citizen of the Year and procedural vote
• Article 1: paying old bills with free cash
• Article 2: a $50,000 emergency fuel and utility account
• Articles 3 and 4: closing a $275,000 shortfall
• Article 5: emergency trailer repairs
• Articles 6 and 7: First Meeting House preservation studies
• Article 8: Quabbin Regional School Agreement amendments
• Articles 9 and 10: camping and temporary structures on municipal land
• Article 11: zoning bylaw amendments
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,975 words

Source: the Town Meeting meeting of October 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.