Acushnet Finance Committee reviews three department budgets ahead of town meeting

ACUSHNET — March 12, 2026 — Acushnet Finance Committee takes FY27 budget presentations from golf, Town Clerk, and Fire-EMS with no formal adoptions. Golf Superintendent Steve Tibbles presented a net-zero budget anchored by reduced debt service, while flagging proposed 10 percent supervisory salary increases as mere placeholders pending union negotiations — a United Steelworkers contract expiring June 30 that has not yet entered formal talks. Town Clerk Pam Labonte announced she is running for a final three-year term, will forgo all salary increases during it, and revealed Acushnet has never held a sworn assistant town clerk — a gap she said nearly prevented the issuance of death certificates for two residents who died in early March. Fire Chief Tom (surname unclear) disclosed the department is effectively paying two salaries for one position while an injured firefighter's disability retirement winds through state channels, adding roughly $70,000 to the career salary line; he also confirmed two new ambulances are funded through short-term notes, with the first expected by early April. The committee unanimously approved a $16,000 reserve fund transfer for a server purchase, a figure that had already risen $3,657 from an earlier quote that lapsed after 15 days.