Templeton Select Board reelects Bennett as chair, eliminates police overnight shift July 1

TEMPLETON -- June 1, 2026, Templeton Select Board reorganizes, warns of no overnight police coverage starting July 1. The board re-elected Jeff Bennett as chair and Tim Toth as vice chair Monday on 3-1 votes, with Megan Graves opposed in both cases and new member April Culver elected clerk without opposition. The police chief told the board that effective July 1, 2026, a direct consequence of voters' rejection of a Proposition 2½ override, the department will end its midnight shift and operate only from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., leaving potential response gaps of 30 to 40 minutes covered only by State Police "for emergency calls only." The chief also recommended the board require all liquor establishments to close by 10 p.m. The board unanimously approved a new animal control plan combining part-time and on-call officers to replace the terminated Winchendon regional agreement, effective July 1, and renewed a three-year transfer station agreement with Winchendon at $11,000 in year one, rising to $13,000 by year three. Bennett also flagged a structural deficit in the TCTV cable access enterprise fund, which is projected to fall roughly $25,000 short of its $125,000 FY26 revenue budget, continuing a multi-year trend of spending outpacing cable franchise fee income.