Blandford Select Board Adjourns Tax Hearing Until Dec. 19 Special Town Meeting

BLANDFORD -- December 8, 2025, Blandford Select Board adjourns FY2026 tax classification hearing to December 19, pending $370,000 free cash vote. The board opened and immediately adjourned its annual tax rate hearing at the December 8 meeting, voting to reconvene directly after a Special Town Meeting at which residents will decide whether to transfer $370,000 in certified free cash to reduce the tax levy. Regional Assessor Harold Shai and Associate Assessor Alex presented draft figures showing the FY26 rate rising from $11.71 to $12.56 per $1,000 of assessed value, a $603 annual increase for the owner of a home at the town's average assessed value of $372,000. The town's total levy for FY26 is $4,107,652, up roughly 13.5 percent. The board also voted unanimously to waive the town's Chapter 61B right of first refusal on a one-acre parcel at Otis Town Road, allowing the new owners to build a storage shed while keeping 5.71 acres in the open-space program. In other business, the board authorized a $9,500 ADA accessibility grant from the Massachusetts Office on Disabilities, received a $40,000 roof repair quote from Rockwell Roofing for 22 skylights and a membrane leak at Town Hall, and agreed to submit a funding request to Springfield Water and Sewer by December 31 for an engineering study of the flood-prone Gibbs Road culvert.