Halifax Board of Selectmen signs landfill contract, reappoints three Finance Committee members

HALIFAX -- June 9, 2026, Halifax Board of Selectmen approves landfill contract and Conservation fee hikes as reserve fund dispute over police and fire staffing erupts in public comment. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to sign a three-year, $123,800 environmental monitoring contract with Tyler Vaughn for the Hemlock Landfill covering fiscal years 2027 through 2029, with $39,700 already appropriated at May town meeting and future years subject to additional authorization. The board also unanimously approved a Conservation Commission fee schedule increase, most hikes a flat $25 per permit, and reappointed Finance Committee members Edward Bryan, Rodney Hemingway, and Michael Ricknetta to three-year terms through June 15, 2029. The meeting's sharpest exchange came during public comment, when Gordon C. Andrews of 244 Elm Street argued in a written statement read by Chair Tom Pratt that a Finance Committee reserve transfer to restore fire and police positions cut at the May 11 town meeting would be "the circumvention the law forbids." Finance Committee Chair Jim Walters immediately pushed back, citing MGL Chapter 40, Section 6, and arguing the school budget overages that created the public safety shortfall were not known until town meeting itself, making the situation genuinely unforeseen. Deputy Police Chief Ted Benner, of Cranberry Drive, urged the board to resolve the legal question before July 1, when the new fiscal year begins and department budgets take effect; Pratt confirmed the matter is already with town counsel Brooks and Durantzis.