Douglas Capital Planning Committee Approves Five-Year Plan Through Fiscal Year 2032

DOUGLAS -- April 7, 2026, Douglas Capital Planning Committee approves five-year capital plan through fiscal year 2032. The committee voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt the plan, which targets roughly $1.25 million in annual capital spending and adds a placeholder for a highway facility bond in fiscal year 2028 at a dollar amount still to be determined. Two items are headed to a special town meeting warrant this year: a replacement backhoe, moved up from fiscal year 2028 after a transmission failure rendered the current machine uneconomical to repair, and a school service contract that must be completed over the summer. The annual warrant carries road paving, a fire tanker replacement partially offset by a $300,000 special stabilization account, and resurfacing of the municipal parking lot's basketball and pickleball court. Two replacement dump trucks, ordered to retire 2001-model vehicles, are being outfitted in Foxborough and are expected within 60 days. The plan also includes two $150,000 phases of town-records digitization, aimed at consolidating property files currently scattered across conservation, building, planning, and assessor's offices into a single searchable record per parcel.