Auburn Select Board Authorizes Police Grant Application, Accepts FEMA Sewer Award

Select Board · Meeting of July 20, 2026

Auburn's three governing boards mapped Special Town Meeting priorities jointly for the first time, with a deteriorating high school turf field and strained reserves dominating the session. Town Manager Dori Vecchio disclosed a $450,000 fiscal year 2026 snow-and-ice deficit — offset in part by $257,000 in state RAP funds — and a $200,000 health insurance shortfall covered through a spending freeze, while reporting $8,284,913 in unspent free cash and $4.9 million in stabilization. School Business Manager Jennifer Stanek presented a $700,000 replacement package for the Auburn High School all-purpose field, installed in 2006 and described as a safety risk after this fall, to be funded through a combination of a $300,000 new appropriation and $250,000 in repurposed capital accounts, plus a separate $70,000 request for a wheelchair-accessible bus.

The Select Board voted 3-0 to authorize a $375,000 COPS Hiring Program grant application for three police officers, with member Daniel S. Carpenter flagging a new federal immigration information-sharing condition he said may require an Attorney General's opinion before any award is accepted. The board also accepted a long-pending FEMA grant of $125,686.67 for a sewer pump station generator replacement, with a $41,895.56 local match from sewer retained earnings.

In the full story:

• Joint Meeting on Special Town Meeting Goals and Objectives
• Public Hearings — Bowlero Auburn Change of Officers
• Police Department — COPS Hiring Program Grant Application
• DPW — FEMA HMGP Grant Acceptance
• DPW — Roadway Improvements Update
• MBTA Communities Act Compliance
• The complete report — 3,254 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of July 20, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.