Local News

(March 3, 2026) – The Select Board received an update on the town’s FY2027 Capital Plan at Tuesday’s meeting. The Capital Planning Committee has met over the past few months to review requests and approve the final plan. We do not have a list of recommendations to share. Rather, the town management presented the Select…

The cost of building is about to go up a few hundred dollars per water and sewer connection in Ayer. The Rate Review Committee is recommending the Select Board raise the cost of water and sewer connections on March 17th, when the board meets to approve the FY2027 water and sewer usage rates and the…

Here is a link to our Ayer News Newsletter for Feb. 26, 2026: https://preview.mailerlite.io/preview/1893221/emails/180138761912321454

(Feb. 24, 2026) – A developer presented plans for a new four-story building with 11 apartments and a small commercial space in downtown Ayer this week. The Planning Board opened the public hearing for 63 Main Street, where the applicant is seeking site plan approval and a special permit for off-site parking. The project falls…

Town of Ayer’s Health Insurance Costs Come in Lower Than Expected for FY2027, Read. Read the PDF version of the newsletter, which includes a correction.

Updates from the week: Where the Ayer-Shirley Regional School District Budget Stands, Read. Read about our Candidates Page 2026 project, Read. Rate Review Committee Recommends Increases to Water and Sewer Rates, While Keeping Stormwater Rate Level, Read. State Fire Marshal Orders No Further Blasting on Lincoln Hill Project Pending Investigation, Read.

(Feb. 11th) – The Ayer-Shirley Regional School District has now made preliminary budget presentations to both the Ayer and Shirley Select Boards. On Feb. 3rd, the school district met with the Ayer Select Board, Finance Committee and Town Manager, presenting a preliminary budget reflecting an 11.9 percent increase in Ayer’s operating assessment & debt and…

(Please note: on Feb. 24th, we updated our coverage to reflect that the committee voted to raise the sewer rate by 4 percent, not 5). (Feb. 10, 2026) – The Rate Review Committee has voted to recommend a 3 percent increase on water rates and 4 percent on sewer rates for FY2027. Meanwhile, the committee…

(Feb. 6, 2026) – The State Fire Marshal has ordered no further blasting related to the Lincoln Hill project, pending completion of an investigation into a large “flying rock” discharging onto a residential property, damaging a shed, according to the Town of Ayer. The Town of Ayer issued a statement on Friday, Feb. 6th. This…

Check out a few local stories from the week. We have updates on the Ayer-Shirley Regional School District budget and the Capital Planning Committee’s discussion on the Sandy Pond Beach House project. We also wrote about a new four-story building coming to Park Street. This will bring commercial space and 12 new apartments to the center of town. This is the one of the first major projects to be approved under Ayer’s Downtown/Park Street Form-Based Code District zoning.