Select Board Rejects Assessor Aide Hire Before Override

Select Board · Meeting of August 24, 2026

Templeton Select Board voted 1-3 against hiring a replacement administrative assistant for the Assessor's Office, leaving Deputy Assessor Justice as the office's sole employee ahead of the September 28 override vote. Robert May, Timothy Toth and April Cover voted no, with Chair Jeffrey Bennett the lone yes; Candace Graves's vote was not clearly recorded. Toth argued "if we're going to implement a hiring freeze, we implement a hiring freeze," while Ryan noted even an override win would require a separate October 21 Town Meeting appropriation vote.

The board also adopted its 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan unanimously, approved a $95,000 Main Street Bridge study update aimed at a future $5 million MassWorks grant, and voted 4-1 to accept $214 in Parks and Recreation donations. A tense exchange over the town's single, five-week-trained animal control officer exposed disputes over training pace, a Dudley Road bite call and chain-of-command authority.

In the full story:

• Ryan defended the pace of training
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,310 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of August 24, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.