Acushnet Finance Committee Recommends Warrant Articles Covering Safety Gear, School Boilers

ACUSHNET — May 7, 2026 — Acushnet Finance Committee votes to recommend more than two dozen town warrant articles, including $330,000 in free cash spending. Town Administrator Jamie Kelly walked the panel through a draft warrant covering public safety equipment, school infrastructure, and enterprise fund transfers at the May 7 meeting chaired by Michael R. Boucher. Key expenditures include up to $65,000 for out-of-compliance fire turnout gear, up to $13,250 for a replacement 9-1-1 recording system that Kelly said fails federal retention and security requirements, and $95,000 to repair school boiler tubes rather than pursue a $395,000 full replacement — a patch Kelly said would buy four to five years of useful life. The committee also backed $65,000 in free cash to purchase an unmarked police cruiser, which Kelly acknowledged departs from his preference for operating-budget vehicle funding but said is unavoidable this year. Sixteen departments are level-funded, six have decreased, and twelve budgets remain open pending final numbers, including police, water, sewer, and golf.