FinCom Advances Charter Rewrite, Tree Bylaw to Vote

FinCom · Meeting of September 24, 2026

Billerica FinCom backs charter overhaul, new tree bylaw, first dog-fee hike in 17 years. The Finance Committee voted 7-1 to recommend a wide-ranging charter rewrite, drafted by a committee chaired by William Green over 36 meetings, that would bar individual Select Board, Planning Board or School Committee members from filing warrant articles solo. A related special act tightening recall-election rules, capping signatures at 25 percent per precinct and barring recalled officials from appointment for two years, also advanced.

Members split 5-3 to recommend a new tree preservation bylaw fining residents $300 for removing large setback-area trees without notifying the tree warden, with one member saying, "I'm 67 years old. I'm sick and tired of every two days having to go blow the leaves." A dog-license fee increase, the first since roughly 2009, passed 8-0. A citizen petition defining the town manager's "day-to-day" authority failed 2-6 after its petitioner did not attend.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,106 words

Source: the FinCom meeting of September 24, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Correction (Nov. 2, 2026): An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Select Board member Dina Favreau.