Dover Finance Committee Reviews Five Department Budgets in Three-Hour Session

DOVER -- February 9, 2026, Dover's Finance Committee reviewed fiscal year 2027 budget proposals from five departments at its February 9 meeting, approving only the prior session's minutes in a 7-0 vote. Fire Chief requested an EMT on-call rate increase from $15 to $20 per hour, a change he said accounts for $114,000 of the ambulance budget's year-over-year increase, citing comparable rates of $23 at Sherborn and $25 at Carlisle Fire, and noting that station-based staffing cuts response times from nearly 10 minutes to roughly three minutes. Police Chief Vincy reported $124,000 in grants received so far this fiscal year with $102,000 more pending, including a potential $12,000 body-worn camera grant, and requested a $17,000 technology line increase plus a new civilian executive assistant and an additional sergeant. Library Director Bethany projected a roughly 6 percent municipal budget decrease with no cuts, reporting 455 events and nearly 23,000 attendees in fiscal year 2025 against a total spend of about $986,000 that she valued at more than $2.1 million in community services. Conservation Commission Chair John Sullivan disclosed that the panel spent $127,000 on consulting agent Janet Bowser in fiscal year 2025, well above a budgeted contract, and that recurring internal transfers have covered the overages without prior Finance Committee visibility. Board of Health Director Jason Belmonte proposed a $294,000 budget for FY27, a roughly $4,000 decrease, anchored by consolidating two part-time admin roles into one full-time position.