Finance Committee Kicks Off Budget Review with $400,000 Borrowing Request

WEST BRIDGEWATER — February 5, 2026 — West Bridgewater Finance Committee opens its annual budget review with a $400,000 short-term borrowing request. The committee heard departmental presentations Thursday from the town's treasurer-collector, identified only as Scott, who requested a jump in the bond anticipation notes line to $400,000 to cover a $106,000 ambulance payoff and a potential pre-delivery draw on the town's long-awaited fire truck, expected in May or June with a galvanized steel body built for a 30-year service life. Personnel retirements in the treasurer-collector's office — including the replacement of a top-step employee with a lowest-step hire — offset contractual raises across that department. The police presenter, whose name was not introduced, said full staffing has allowed court overtime to be cut and reallocated to technology service contracts, while the fire chief reported that ambulance supply costs have been flat since FY19 and sharps disposal fees have nearly doubled as community drop-off use grows. The town also carries roughly $18 million in remaining school debt, to be retired within 14 years, with MSBA reimbursements of approximately $400,000 already received on a feasibility study BAN and another $150,000 anticipated.