Dighton Select Board approves police hires, opens town meeting warrant amid budget debate

DIGHTON — February 26, 2025 — Dighton Select Board approves two police hires and opens annual town meeting warrant at wide-ranging February session. The board unanimously appointed Tyler Lopes as a full-time patrol officer and Angelina Echevarria as a part-time dispatcher on the recommendation of Police Chief George Nichols, and voted to set the annual town meeting for Monday, June 9. Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District Superintendent Bill Rooney presented a preliminary FY2026 budget projecting a 4.36 percent increase to Dighton's assessment — a $2.1 million district-wide rise — down from a level-services figure of 7.92 percent after 33 staffing cuts over two years; Chair Peter Caron said a town facing cuts to police and fire "can't absorb" even the reduced figure and asked Rooney to seek additional efficiencies before a March 18 joint meeting with the Finance Committee. A town clerk request to opt out of vote-by-mail for the April 12 election died for lack of a motion after the town's ADA coordinator argued all costs beyond the $4,370 application mailing are fully reimbursable by the state. Separately, the board asked the police chief to return in two weeks after multiple residents near the town firing range reported what one described as "relentless" daily shooting noise and another alleged a bullet had struck a neighbor's garage door.