Millis Finance Committee Unanimously Recommends All 24 Town Meeting Warrant Articles

PEPPERELL — April 15, 2026 — Millis Finance Committee votes to recommend all 24 articles on the May 4 annual town meeting warrant. The nine-member panel, chaired by John Lohr, unanimously backed a $48,637,090 general fund budget for FY2027 reflecting a 3.5 percent discretionary growth cap, a $1,286,633 borrowing authorization for a town-wide water meter replacement program, and $684,935 in capital projects funded through free cash. The committee's most extended debate surrounded Article 17, a zoning amendment proposed by Planning Board Chair Nicole Riley that would define battery energy storage systems and data storage centers and restrict larger commercial-scale facilities to the industrial zones by special permit — a protective first step before a full bylaw can be drafted. "If you don't zone it somewhere, the industry can go anywhere," Riley told the committee, adding that a tier-two or tier-three battery storage facility placed next to a home "could really affect you." The panel also recommended Article 14, a $120,000 hydraulic study to support a FEMA flood map revision for land along Route 109, which members said would be unrecoverable directly but could unlock substantial future tax revenue if development of the currently restricted parcels becomes possible.