Town of Ayer News

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.

(Feb. 17, 2026) – The Town of Ayer has learned its health insurance costs will rise by 6.2 percent in FY2027, a much lower-than-expected increase, according to the Select Board meeting video from Tuesday. The health insurance increase will add about $161,688 to the budget, much less than the 20 percent – or $500,000 increase…

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.

In 2019, Town Meeting voted to approve the Downtown/Park Street Form-Based Code zoning district. Now, the Planning Board has approved what could be the first major project: a four-story mixed-use building, with commercial space and parking on the first floor and 12 residential units on the higher levels. The Planning Board voted on Jan. 27th…

(Feb. 4, 2026) – Over the past two weeks, the Capital Planning Committee has met twice and considered the Sandy Pond Beach House replacement project as part of its agenda. This week, committee members said they support the project, but it is difficult to move ahead without having design plans and a budget. “I’m just…

(Feb. 3, 2026) – The Ayer-Shirley Regional School District superintendent met with the Ayer Select Board and Finance Committee on Tuesday night and presented a preliminary operating assessment & debt of $28.16 million for FY2027. This represents $3.24 million over the current year. The preliminary required local contribution for Ayer was $11.28 million. With transportation…