Boxborough Finance Committee rejects human services director, unanimously kills regional playground request

BOXBOROUGH -- March 12, 2024, Boxborough Finance Committee reverses course on human services director, rejects $171,000 playground request. Meeting March 12, the seven-member committee re-voted on a proposed human services director position after member George changed his position, producing a 3-4 non-recommendation after a prior vote had supported it; Town Administrator Mike warned that shifting duties to the assistant town administrator risked overloading a person already serving as acting IT and HR director. The committee then voted 0-7 against recommending a $171,000 Community Preservation Committee request for a regional school playground, with member Becky arguing the project's funding gap had narrowed substantially, through additional fundraising, a $34,000 regional school contribution, and $40,000 in in-kind site work, but the applicant declined to reduce the ask: "I actually could have been persuaded last night to vote yes on this if he was willing to move off of the 171." The committee approved an ambulance purchase 7-0, consolidated three part-time staff positions into a full-time administrative assistant, corrected an associate planner position to 40 hours per week after discovering mid-vote it had always been budgeted at that level, and cleared a slate of capital, software, and zoning articles, leaving only a fire department land acquisition article for the following week.