Bellingham Select Board votes to put $4.1 million override on annual ballot

BELLINGHAM — March 17, 2026 — Bellingham Select Board votes 4-0-1 to send a $4.1 million Proposition 2½ override to annual town election voters. The vote came after a public comment session in which residents warned that failure would trigger 36 staff cuts, elimination of middle school athletics, and a flight of families to neighboring towns. One board member abstained pending a written Ethics Commission opinion but signaled personal support. Town Administrator Joe also told the board that $959,752 in FY24 federal community project funding from Congressman Jake Auchincloss's office would arrive as soon as the following day, and that Finance Committee budget hearings begin March 23, starting with the school department. The board separately voted to officially rename the town's Municipal Center the Dennis C. Frame Municipal Center, formalizing a change that had been made in letterhead but never put to a recorded vote.