Writing about Lancaster, Massachusetts

  Residents uncovered that the source of a string of anonymous Facebook Messages, including social media messages accusing the chair of the Planning Board of "hiding something," is another Planning Board member, Kendra Dickinson.    

  Image by Firefly AI: "A tangle of ethernet cables shaped like a Christmas Tree" For much of Lancaster, Xfinity is our internet provider.  We have a few different plans to pick from: which should we pick?   This years infrastructure upgrades allowed higher upload speeds - that's changed the choices drastically.  If you haven't looked recently, it might be time to check if a cheaper plan would meet your needs.

  Image by Adobe Firefly AI Last night the Select Board held the town's Tax Classification hearing, clearing the way for the town to submit tax rates for FY2025.    Though the appropriation approved in May was up 4% over the previous year, many tax payers will pay less in taxes for FY2025 (the year ending in June) because the town approved a budget that uses $1,000,000 in free cash (unused balances from prior years) and stabilization funds.    This is a victory for residents who pressed for a budget that more accurately portrayed expenses after two years of wildly inflated budgets, but we'll need to continue pressing for transparency and accurate budgeting.

  Photo by Brian Wangenheim on Unsplash It's official:  Town Administrator Kate Hodges has delivered her notice and will resign effective Friday, January 10th, 2025.   Her first contract with Lancaster was due to end on June 30th.

What do towns in our region pay their town administrator?   This year Lancaster is paying 50% more than Shirley and Sterling, but how do we compare to other towns?     I gathered up the current executive contracts and salaries from 10 towns in our region.

  At last night's Select Board meeting there was more discussion about the Lancaster's "5 Year Financial Forecast."     That forecast document has not been publicly distributed in the past, but here's a copy if you're interested in taking a look.  

Last night a Select Board member posted on social media about his initiative to petition for a town Charter Commission: nearly everything he wrote about a Town Charter was incorrect.  Just a month earlier that same member did everything in his power to prevent residents from voting on expanding the Select Board.   What's the story?