East Bridgewater Finance Committee Approves $15,000 Settlement, Reviews Three Department Budgets

EAST BRIDGEWATER — March 11, 2026 — East Bridgewater Finance Committee opens fiscal year 2027 budget reviews with blizzard costs, library certification risk, and a legal settlement in focus. The committee unanimously approved a $15,000 reserve fund transfer to settle a claim by Jennifer Ritter stemming from the town's decades-long use of a Washington Street firing range — a companion to a larger settlement with property owner Janelle Rotundo that will go before Town Meeting. Library Director Karen Erbeck warned that any appropriation below $679,396 triggers a state waiver process and puts roughly $41,000 in annual state aid at risk, even as the committee's 2 percent reduction directive would drop the library to approximately $651,000; she also proposed converting a part-time employee to full-time to expand passport processing, projecting revenue could rise from roughly $13,000 to $55,000 annually. DPW Director John Haynes reported that February's blizzard — which he called unprecedented in nearly 50 years, with snowfall rates exceeding 4 inches per hour and sustained winds above 50 miles per hour — drove total fiscal year 2026 snow and ice spending more than $700,000 over the department's $425,000 annual appropriation, with subcontractor invoices still outstanding.