Winchester Community Access & Media Inc. (WinCAM) is confronting its most serious financial challenge in decades, with a $50,000 budget deficit threatening the organization’s ability to provide local government coverage and community programming. Executive Director David Gauthier told the Select Board recently that the deficit represents about 15%
A Winchester Labradoodle that bit a 6-year-old boy requiring eight stitches must be muzzled in public, confined behind a 6-foot fence and undergo continued training under conditions imposed by the Select Board after unanimously finding the dog to be a “nuisance.” The board voted 5-0 on July 28 to impose
Town Manager Beth Rudolph will step down from her role Sept. 3, ending a 20-year tenure that began in the engineering office and culminated with her leading the community through some of its most challenging periods. Select Board Chair Michelle Prior announced Rudolph’s departure during the July 14 board
The Winchester Select Board on Monday approved nearly $11 million in new borrowing, endorsed a local Eagle Scout’s plan to restore gathering spaces in Elliot Park and received sweeping updates on town construction and infrastructure projects — actions that collectively illustrate the town’s increasingly intricate balancing act between urgent
Town Manager Beth Rudolph submitted her resignation on Monday, setting a cap on a career that began in the Town Hall engineering office and culminated in the top administrative post. Select Board member Bill McGonigle said Rudolph’s brief letter offered no explanation beyond her intention to leave. He did
Winchester has lost 90 acres of tree canopy in just over a decade — roughly 68 football fields of tree cover — and residents and town officials are trying to figure out how to stop any more loss. A 2023 analysis by PlanIT Geo found that Winchester’s tree canopy has dropped
The Select Board met Monday to review proposed bylaw revisions and vote positions on warrant articles for the spring Town Meeting scheduled to open April 28 with a record 56 articles. Town Counsel Jay Talerman provided a detailed legal analysis of the Government Regulations Committee’s proposed general bylaw changes,
At Winchester’s upcoming Spring Town Meeting — which opens April 28 — members will consider whether to replace “Robert’s Rules of Order” with “Town Meeting Time” as the procedural framework that governs how Town Meeting is run. The change is outlined in Article 38 of the 2025 warrant and is
Major changes to Town Meeting procedures highlight Winchester’s 10-year bylaw review as Town Meeting — which convenes April 28 — will take up reforms that could transform how the town conducts business. The Committee on Government Regulations drafted 18 warrant articles for Spring Town Meeting after holding 22 public meetings over
The Select Board on April 7 approved the 56-article warrant for the 2025 Spring Town Meeting and advanced a series of proposals ranging from flood mitigation funding and outdoor dining approvals to new draft regulations under the town’s tree bylaw and a commercial waste pilot program. Board members also
Multiple Winchester boards and committees will hold critical public meetings ahead of the April 28 Spring Town Meeting, offering residents opportunities to weigh in on 56 warrant articles ranging from zoning changes to budget appropriations. Select Board’s meeting The Select Board plans to finalize its positions on warrant articles
In a unanimous series of votes, the Winchester Select Board accepted donations totaling more than $348,000. Among these were notable contributions including $2,250 from Pediatric Dental Associates, Winchester Rotary Club, and Winchester Savings Bank to support Concerts on the Common. Town Manager Beth Rudolph expressed appreciation, calling the
The Winchester Select Board voted unanimously Monday to release $364,746 from the Special Education Reserve Fund to cover unexpected cost increases in transportation and out-of-district tuition expenses. “The contract, I believe, previously was an eight-year contract that expired, went out to bid,” said Director of Finance & Operations Andrew
Winchester voters head to the polls Saturday for municipal elections featuring contested races for Select Board and School Committee alongside an unexpected development — two write-in candidates vying for a Planning Board seat that initially have no contenders on the ballot. The March 22 election will take place at Winchester High
The Winchester Select Board unanimously approved an 8% water and sewer rate increase for fiscal year 2026, pending Town Meeting approval in late April. The board opted for a moderate approach among several options presented during a March 10 public hearing. The approved increase would raise the average residential user’
The Winchester Select Board revisited a steep health insurance cost increase that threatens to deepen the town’s budget deficit while unanimously approving $61 million in bonds and notes at its March 10 meeting. “The town has received a proposed increase of 18.92% for [fiscal year 2026] on our
