Shrewsbury governance panel hears from former Taunton mayor, plans internal outreach and public survey

SHREWSBURY — March 16, 2026 — Shrewsbury Form of Government Study Committee hears from a former Taunton mayor and state fiscal official as it moves toward internal outreach and a public survey. Robert Nunez, who served 11 years as mayor of Taunton, eight years as Massachusetts Deputy Commissioner of Revenue overseeing the Division of Local Services, four years as fiscal overseer for a deficit-ridden Lawrence, and eight years as town manager of Middleborough, told the committee Monday that the variable that matters most across all forms of government is the quality of people in key roles, not the structure itself. He declined to recommend any particular form, but offered a cautionary current example: Middleborough is facing a roughly $3.9 million budget shortfall — including $800,000 in underfunded regional school debt — and may need to postpone its end-of-April town meeting. The committee, which opened by debating the value of a March 2 visit from Framingham Mayor Charlie Sositsky, voted unanimously to approve that meeting's minutes and to adjourn, and agreed to begin forming small working groups to interview town department heads before its next meeting April 6 at the Senior Center, while Assistant Town Manager Tanner Walling works on a draft Likert-scale public survey targeting a launch in April.