Dartmouth Select Board Approves Winery Permits, Animal Control Hire, and Election Warrant

Select Board · Meeting of March 9, 2026

Dartmouth Select Board unanimously approved winery pouring permits, a new animal control hire, and the April 7 town election warrant at its March 9 meeting. The board voted five to zero on all business, including authorizing Chair Heidi Silva Brooks to sign a letter of support for a $64,600 Cost of Community Services study to be funded entirely by a SRPEDD grant with no cost to the town. The headline item was a Long Range Capital Planning Committee presentation projecting annual debt service of $15 million by 2035 and roughly $100 million in water and wastewater enterprise fund borrowing over the next decade, with a potential middle school replacement that could carry a town-side price tag approaching $150 million.

Town Administrator Cody Haddad warned that losing the town's AAA bond rating could push borrowing rates to 5 percent, and noted the schools have requested a 7 percent budget increase for FY27 that Finance Director Gary Carreiro has determined is not feasible. Newly appointed Animal Control Officer Devin Cloutier, a former Wareham animal control officer and six-year veterinary technician, replaces Sandy Gosselin, who retired in July 2025.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of March 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.