Duxbury Selectboard Approves Goals for Fiscal Year 2026
Board focuses on budget planning, zoning issues, and employee support while ratifying water and sewer rate increases
DUXBURY - April 7 - The Duxbury Selectboard approves a set of goals for the upcoming fiscal year, focusing on budget planning, zoning issues, public health concerns, and governance improvements. The board aims to address key challenges facing the town through these initiatives.
During Monday's meeting, the board reviewed and amended a draft document containing about a dozen individual goals organized into five categories: budget, planning and zoning, public health, beach and recreation, and governance administration.
"We ended up, after the last couple of sessions, with about a dozen or more individual goals," said Chair Brian Glennon. "In an effort to categorize and maybe narrow down the total list, we put them into five buckets."
The budget category emerged as a top priority, with board members agreeing to focus on long-term financial planning and community engagement regarding revenue sources and expenditures.
"We need to, as a community, get together and decide what we want to do," said Fernando Guitart. "We need to enter in a conversation with the community on both sides of the fiscal equation, where our revenues are coming from, but also just importantly, where our expenditures are coming from."
Guitart emphasized the need for strategic planning to address the town's structural deficit, especially after a recent Proposition 2.5 override failed to pass.
"As a selectboard, we are required to provide public safety, fire, police, and DPW, and schools. Everything else is kind of up for discussion," Guitart said. "The taxes go towards funding our recreation, go towards funding the swimming pool, go towards funding the beach reservation lease, and everything else that goes with it."
In the planning and zoning category, the board maintained its commitment to hiring a qualified full-time planning director, despite challenges in filling the position.
"We can't go ahead and do another year or two years or three years without a planning director because we're not paying people to come and work for us," Guitart said.
Town Manager René Read requested more flexibility in the goal's wording, noting ongoing recruitment difficulties. Human Resources Director Jeannie Horne offered a positive update, saying, "We are seeing some new applicants in our candidate pool, which is promising."
The board also approved a statement supporting town employees and volunteers in response to recent incidents of incivility.
"As the chief elected officials and executive officers of the town of Duxbury, and as individuals who care deeply about our community, we stand in full support of the talented and dedicated people, employees and volunteers, who provide outstanding municipal services and make Duxbury such a fantastic place to live and work," the statement reads.
The statement acknowledges that while public discourse and diverse perspectives are important, civility remains essential.
"Disagreement is natural and passionate debate is welcome, but personal attacks, harassment, and intimidation undermine the very foundation of a strong community," the statement continues.
The board unanimously ratified water and sewer rate increases approved by the Water and Sewer Commissioners, marking the first increase in 15-16 years. The changes include a transition to quarterly billing and new rates effective April 1, 2025.
"We already discussed it and voted it as the Water and Sewer Commissioners," Glennon noted, explaining that the selectboard needed to formally ratify the decision.
Michael McGee, who had voted against the increases as a Water and Sewer Commissioner, supported the ratification, saying, "I will support this since the board voted in favor of increasing the rate."
Other significant items from the meeting included:
* A presentation from Rockland Trust representative Brian Callow on the town's investment portfolio performance, showing positive returns despite market restrictions on municipal investments
* An update on electric vehicle charging station usage since fees were implemented in December 2024, showing the town is close to breaking even on operational costs
* Approval of aquaculture license renewals for Scott Doyle and Brad Doyle for 10-year terms
* Acceptance of a generous donation from the Doris A. Keller Revocable Trust, providing $25,000 each to the police department, fire department, and library
* An update on the MBTA Communities zoning case, with Town Manager Read reporting that a complaint has been filed with Plymouth Superior Court challenging the requirement as an unfunded mandate
* Notification of grant awards, including $9,369 for firefighter safety equipment and $44,000 for cybersecurity through the Community Compact Cabinet's Information Technology Grant Program
The board also discussed moving the annual town meeting from March to May, with plans to prepare an article for the 2026 annual town meeting that would take effect in 2027.
The next scheduled selectboard meeting will be Monday, April 14, 2025, at 6:30 p.m.