Mendon board weighs rising police and dispatch costs for FY27

Select Board · Meeting of February 26, 2026

Mendon board previews FY27 budget, warns of dispatch and police cost spikes ahead. The Select Board and Finance Committee heard a night of department presentations, with the police chief saying the 14-officer force is running at "90 to 95 percent of our bandwidth" against a recommended 16 officers and asking the board to plan for one new hire per contract cycle over the next decade. Town budget staff said Mendon's capped $120,000 regional dispatch assessment will jump toward $260,000 by fiscal 2029 and proposed banking $15,000 now as a buffer, saying "if we have a dollar, it should go here." The library asked for two additional Monday hours and a new $2,500 furniture line, while the Board of Health reported waste-collection subscriber costs rising $24,850.

No budget votes were taken; final numbers are expected in April.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of February 26, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.