Select Board approves donation, appoints shellfishing task force members
Select Board (Formerly Board of Selectmen) · Meeting of January 20, 2026
IPSWICH — Select Board unanimously accepts donation, appoints shellfishing task force. The Board voted to accept a $2,000 donation from New England Biolabs for the Council on Aging's Friends of Ipswich Elderly Newsletter and confirmed Paul Damon and Michael Walker to the State Legislative Organized Shellfishing Task Force. During an FY27 budget update, Finance staff flagged a structural deficit tied to recent union contract negotiations; the Board discussed potential FY28 level-funding or a hiring freeze.
Charlie Allen of the Ipswich Housing Partnership proposed a local transfer tax on property sales exceeding $1 million to fund the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, estimating roughly $650,000 in annual revenue; the Board voted unanimously to add it as a placeholder warrant article pending consultation with State legislators and local realtors.
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Source: the Select Board (Formerly Board of Selectmen) meeting of January 20, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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