Lanesborough Approves Three EMTs as Town Budget Could Rise 10 Percent

LANESBOROUGH — March 2, 2026 — Lanesborough's joint Select Board and Finance Committee budget workshop projects a 7 to 10 percent overall tax increase for fiscal year 2027 as the town absorbs the loss of $558,010 in annual Baker Hill Road District revenue. Town Administrator Gina Dario told the boards Monday that preliminary modeling already shows a 7.43 percent increase before final school figures, with Mount Greylock Regional's worst-case assessment up 11 percent and a Taconic vocational assessment up 22 percent. Police Chief Rob Dirksen pushed back on documents showing a 44 percent budget spike, explaining the real increase is 4.18 percent once former Baker Hill revenue lines are properly consolidated; he is nonetheless seeking $80,000 for a replacement cruiser under warrant Article 14, double the $40,000 the district had previously contributed. Fire Chief Jeff Duchesne, whose operating budget rose just $150, is seeking approval under warrant Article 13 for a replacement 1996 engine at up to $871,000, with a fire truck stabilization fund currently holding $381,000 toward that cost. Town auditor Thomas Scanlon of Scanlon and Associates reported that the fiscal year 2025 audit is nearly complete and that no markers of misappropriation or significant cash variance have been found. The board unanimously approved three new part-time EMTs — Ransom Augustus Robbins Thorne Thomas, John Canning, and Donnie Francis — and three routine financial warrants totaling $929,257.