Dighton Select Board Appoints Dispatcher, Opens Debt Exclusion Campaign

Select Board · Meeting of February 11, 2026

Dighton Select Board appoints dispatcher, advances swap shed policy, and prepares for debt exclusion vote. The board unanimously appointed Michael Duffy as a part-time public safety dispatcher, filling one of three vacant part-time slots in a department that now relies on four full-timers and a single part-timer. Town Administrator Pacheco announced that a $350,000 federal appropriation for the Dighton pump station has cleared a congressional hurdle and is heading to the Senate, while a town meeting is scheduled for June 1, 2026, with joint Finance Committee budget sessions beginning March 3.

Pacheco publicly acknowledged that a debt exclusion mailer listing potential position eliminations had been circulated before the affected employees were notified, saying "to any employees that have anxiety, I hear you," and promised an open-session board vote on workforce direction within one week. The board also approved five warrants totaling more than $4.25 million and voted to send a home rule petition letter to State Senator Kelly Dooner authorizing use of conservation land for the Pleasant Street Bridge reconstruction.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of February 11, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.