Halifax COA Cuts Van Service to Two Days as Driver Vacancy Drags On

Council on Aging · Meeting of February 17, 2026

Halifax's Council on Aging is operating at half its normal transportation capacity after cutting van service from four days per week to two due to a driver vacancy. COA Director Darlene Reagan told the advisory board at the February 17 meeting that the open driver position — a union role requiring at least two weeks of internal posting before external advertising — had not yet been listed, and that a second staff vacancy in outreach and programs also remained unfilled. Reagan said she had reached out to MedWheels and Old Colony Elder Services as stopgap options for residents with Boston medical appointments booked months in advance, noting that "we have to think twice about appointments in Boston" until staffing is restored.

The board also pressed for a more formal role in the design of a new COA building, which is targeting a groundbreaking in October 2026 and completion by spring 2027, with Reagan saying she planned to raise the issue at a publicly posted planning session held the same afternoon in the Selectmen's meeting room.

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Source: the Council on Aging meeting of February 17, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.