Stoughton Finance Committee Reviews Fire, Police Budgets and $200,000 Police Station Study

STOUGHTON -- March 11, 2026, Stoughton Finance Committee advances fire and police budgets and hears case for armory police station. The committee held public hearings March 11 on fiscal year 2027 department budgets and two capital articles, a $1,230,000 free-cash purchase of a new Pierce fire engine and a $450,000 appropriation for PFAS-free turnout gear for all 66 firefighters, the latter timed to beat a January 2027 state ban on PFAS-containing gear that officials warn will drive prices sharply higher. Town Manager Tom Donahue and Project Management Director Mark Danilecki presented a $200,000 feasibility study request for the town-owned armory site, arguing that the existing 26 Rose Street police station cannot be renovated for less than $55 million, a figure Donahue called "out of the question" given Stoughton's existing school debt, while the armory could potentially house a rebuilt department for under $30 million. Donahue also announced that dissolving the VNA enterprise fund and replacing it with a four-person Public Health Collaborative saves taxpayers $400,000 annually, with the new unit to operate a five-day phone line offering free nursing triage and community health outreach to Stoughton residents only. The committee voted unanimously to continue both the annual and special town meeting public hearings to March 12.