Southwick Select Board Votes to Put Meals Tax Before Town Meeting Voters

Select Board · Meeting of March 9, 2026

Southwick Select Board votes 2-1 to put a local meals tax on the town meeting warrant. The board backed the three-quarters-of-a-percent option over the sole objection of member Doug Morgan, who called himself "a solid no vote," while Chair Diane Gale and member Russ Anderson cited projections of $125,000 to $150,000 in annual revenue. Greg Diley, chair of the Economic Development Committee, told the board that every adjacent community already levies the tax and that an AI-assisted estimate placed Southwick's potential take in that range since the state does not publish town-specific figures.

The board deferred a host community agreement with Pioneer Valley Trading Company after members raised doubts about whether cannabis product manufacturing is a permitted use in the proposed R-40 zone, with the matter sent to Town Counsel Alvin Allen for a legal opinion. The board also approved reserve fund transfers totaling $14,500 for Knox boxes and electricity shortfalls, reappointed Shirley Mae Morris to the Board of Registrars through March 2029, and acknowledged a fiscal year 2027 Chapter 90 highway apportionment of $620,190.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of March 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.