Dover Select Board Reorganizes, Renews Town Administrator to Three-Year Contract

DOVER — May 28, 2026 — Dover Select Board reorganizes and renews Town Administrator Michael Blanchard to a three-year contract through June 2029. Meeting with only two of three members present — Chair-elect David Haviland and outgoing Chair Robin Hunter, with Cameron Hudson on vacation — the board voted 2-0 on all items at its May 28 remote meeting. Hunter, who led the contract negotiations, said Blanchard's salary had been found below market through the town's recent wage study and that the new contract includes annual market adjustments; exact figures were not disclosed in open session. The board also voted 2-0 to endorse Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School's vote to transfer $325,000 from certified excess and deficiency funds to its Capital Stabilization Fund, alongside a separate $425,000 OPEB transfer, and approved a new Aquarian water service connection at 29 Springdale Avenue contingent on irrigation demand not exceeding five gallons per minute. The board is preparing a state legislative earmark wishlist in the $10,000–$25,000 range at the request of State Representative Josh Tarski, who told the board he sometimes learns of earmark votes just days before they occur.