West Bridgewater Select Board approves Goat City Pub license, warns of zero free cash

WEST BRIDGEWATER — April 2, 2025 — West Bridgewater Select Board approves Goat City Pub liquor transfer and passes a $45 million budget that exhausts all town free cash. The board unanimously approved the transfer of an all-alcohol license from Grand Slam Pizza and Pub to Goat City Pub 2, LLC, with attorney Matt Porter presenting applicant Brianne Sylvie, who will serve as on-site license manager, noting a clean record at the company's Norton location. The town administrator warned the board that balancing the fiscal year 2026 budget required drawing down an additional roughly $1.1 million in free cash on top of the standard $350,000 school-debt offset, leaving the town with no free cash going into the next fiscal year — a first in his 12-year tenure — while Chapter 70 state education aid increased by only $85,000 against a $1.1 million school budget increase. The board voted 2-1 to approve a one-day entertainment license for Barrett's Alehouse for a Little Mania Wrestling event on August 19, and unanimously recommended that portable storage containers in place fewer than 46 days not require a building permit. The town's annual meeting is scheduled for May 12.