Essex Board Authorizes $2M Causeway Flood Grant
Select Board · Meeting of September 28, 2026
Essex ties new fire chief hire to a $50,000 budget fix. The Select Board voted unanimously to authorize a federal PROTECT grant application worth "in excess of $2 million" for Essex Causeway flood mitigation, with MassDOT as lead applicant and Essex as co-applicant. Town Administrator Brendan told the board the regional elementary school project, shared with Manchester, has come down to roughly $95 million, putting Essex's one-third share after Massachusetts School Building Authority reimbursement near $25 million, versus $13.2 million the town paid toward the 2018 Manchester Memorial project; both towns vote at town meetings November 16, with a debt-exclusion election December 10.
In a joint session with the Finance Committee and Board of Fire Engineers, officials said the town will not advertise its roughly $120,000 full-time fire chief position until the department finds $50,000 to fund two added weekday day-shift firefighters. "Are we going to get the service we need from the firm that we have now if they know that they could be out the door?" a Finance Committee member asked separately, debating whether to shop the town's bond-financing engagement. A $26,000 unpaid snow-removal bill will require a nine-tenths town meeting vote.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 4,368 words
Source: the Select Board meeting of September 28, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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