Halifax Boards Propose $800,000-Plus in FY2027 Cuts If Override Fails

HALIFAX — March 31, 2026 — Halifax Select Board and Finance Committee lay out sweeping cuts as $1.5 million override heads toward the ballot. At a packed joint public session Tuesday, Town Administrator Steven Solbo detailed more than $800,000 in proposed FY2027 reductions across police, fire, general government, schools, and the Council on Aging, with all cuts taking effect July 1 if a Proposition 2½ override fails at the polls. Police Chief Shostak said the department's $150,021 in reductions — including elimination of the $75,000 school resource officer position — could leave two officers on overnight shifts, and he said he considered shutting the station at midnight if cuts went deeper. Fire Chief Mike Whitten said $140,000 in wage cuts would drop shifts from three members to two, meaning the department could staff only one vehicle — the ambulance or the engine — at a time, potentially affecting the town's ISO Class 5 fire-protection rating and driving up residential insurance premiums. Council on Aging Director Darlene Regan said proposed cuts amount to a 50 percent salary reduction for her and eliminate both of her support positions, reducing to one professional a department that served 568 residents last year. Finance Committee Chair Jim Walters said the override would cost the average Halifax household roughly $450 annually and would restore level — not expanded — service.