Auburn Select Board confirms new economic development director, approves fall licenses

AUBURN -- September 8, 2025, Auburn confirms new economic development director and clears slate of fall community licenses. The Select Board voted unanimously Monday to confirm Town Manager Dory's appointment of Paul Dequila as assistant town manager and chief economic development director, citing his more than 20 years of planning and economic development experience and a unanimous recommendation from the interview panel. Dequila, most recently based in Boylston, told the board he intends to immediately audit Auburn's existing planning documents and track their action items, saying he never wants plans to sit "proverbially on the shelf." The board also unanimously transmitted the citizen-petition traffic study zoning bylaw, Article 35 from the May annual town meeting, to the Planning Board for an October 14 public hearing, with Vice Chair Todd M. Kirrane pressing for corrections to what he called "fatal flaws" in the existing draft language. Chief Assessor Seth Ward reported fiscal year 2026 preliminary real estate billing of $24.1 million and certified new growth of approximately $730,000. The board additionally approved licenses for Sheldon's Harley-Davidson's second annual bike fest, the Friends of the Auburn Public Library's outdoor book sale, the Auburn Chamber of Commerce's fourth annual scarecrow contest, and one-day liquor licenses for events at Sheldon's and at Webster Five Bank's Millbury Street headquarters.