Hanover voters approve $32M PFAS water debt
Hanover town meeting approves $32 million PFAS water debt, punts pesticide plan to study committee.
Town Meeting · Meeting of May 4, 2026
Hanover town meeting approves $32 million PFAS water debt, punts pesticide plan to study committee. Voters authorized borrowing up to $32 million to strip "forever chemicals" from three water treatment plants after consultant Eric Kelly said design work is 90 percent complete, and adopted an $81,158,721 fiscal 2027 budget using $906,737 in free cash to soften a roughly 4.3 percent tax hike. Select Board member Vanessa O'Connor said opponents wanted to "kick this can down the road," while engineer Brian Hernan called the $32 million figure insufficiently detailed.
A $160,000 plan to test organic fertilizer at three schools, after an Advisory Committee recommendation against it failed 95-81, was instead referred to a seven-member study committee. Voters also approved $496,027 for a B. Everett Hall Field redesign and honored outgoing Select Board member Rhonda L.
Nyman.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 1,580 words
Source: the Town Meeting meeting of May 4, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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