Southwick Town Meeting to Take Up Fire Engine, TIF Deal, and Meals Tax Tuesday

SOUTHWICK — May 19, 2026 — Southwick's Select Board previewed 24 warrant articles across a Special Town Meeting and Annual Town Meeting, both scheduled for the evening of May 19. Select Board Chair Diane Gale and Chief Administrative Officer Nicole Parker presented the lineup, which includes a request to purchase a new fire engine at a maximum of $1.1 million — offset by $200,000 in surplus funds from a completed building roof and HVAC project — and a 10-year tax increment financing agreement with WGI, which would invest $18 million to build a 60,000-square-foot facility and add 30 jobs, in exchange for a total tax exemption of $1,098,960 on improvements. The town's proposed FY27 operating budget is $18,914,079, reached after departments absorbed two successive 5-percent cuts totaling a 10-percent reduction. Voters will also weigh a 0.75-percent local option meals tax that would bring the total rate to 7 percent, a move Gale noted has already been adopted by approximately 260 Massachusetts communities including all of Southwick's neighbors. The Special Town Meeting opens at 6:15 p.m., with doors opening at 5:30 p.m.