Auburn Select Board Approves Land Disturbance Article, Reviews $90.7M FY27 Budget

Select Board · Meeting of February 17, 2026

Auburn Select Board votes to send anti-clear-cutting land disturbance bylaw to Town Meeting and opens review of a $90.7 million FY27 budget. The board voted unanimously February 17 to place a warrant article on the 2026 Annual Town Meeting agenda that would bar residents and developers from applying for a land disturbance permit before first obtaining a building permit, and would triple the building permit fee for violations; Vice Chair Todd M. Kirrane, who originated the proposal, cited years of clear-cut parcels sitting idle across town as the impetus.

The proposed FY27 budget, presented by the town manager and CFO Karen, is balanced at $90.7 million, raising the tax levy 2.13 percent, $217,273 short of the Proposition 2 and a half ceiling, while carrying an excess levy capacity of $9.47 million. A $1.274 million spike in health insurance, described by the town manager as "the highest cost I have ever seen in my career," and a $300,000 increase in Worcester County retirement drove the tightest constraints, leaving five requested police positions and two DPW labor slots entirely unfunded.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of February 17, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.