Boxborough Finance Committee Approves Two Transfers, Sends Fire Truck Request Back for Invoices

BOXBOROUGH -- April 28, 2026, Boxborough Finance Committee approves $5,503.80 in reserve transfers, holds fire department request for documentation. The committee voted 6-0 to approve a $503.80 transfer to the treasurer's account to cover two outstanding invoices and a $5,000 transfer to the town accountant's budget after audit costs jumped to $30,000 when no bidders responded to the town's solicitation at its previously budgeted level of roughly $25,000; Finance Director Honghoa Le noted that some audit firms were quoting $40,000 or declining to bid at all. A larger $33,000 reserve fund request from Fire Chief John Kivlan was deferred after Chair Tony Newton identified a roughly $4,500 gap between the chief's internal tracker and the town's VADAR accounting system, with most of the requested repair work, including a $12,500 pump rebuild on Engine 64's tanker still in progress, lacking finalized invoices; the committee capped total fire maintenance reserve transfers at $38,000 and pledged 48-hour Zoom turnaround on documented invoices. The Fire Station Building Committee separately selected architect Context for the fire station project after interviewing three of eight applicants, while committee member Larry Grossman's resignation leaves a vacancy the panel is seeking to fill with an architect or engineer.