Sherborn Select Board Appoints Town Clerk, Flags $850,000 Budget Gap

Select Board · Meeting of January 22, 2026

Sherborn Select Board appoints a new town clerk and confronts an $850,000 structural budget shortfall heading into fiscal year 2027. The board unanimously appointed John Doyle, former assistant city clerk for Somerville, to a three-year term as town clerk at its January 22 meeting, chaired by Steven Tsai with Vice Chair Dan Sichel absent following brain surgery. Town Administrator Jeremy Marsette told the board the town is $850,000 over its levy limit in aggregate, with the schools projecting a roughly 15 percent spending increase and excess levy capacity set to be fully exhausted after this fiscal year.

The capital plan shows approximately $3 million in proposed exempt borrowing, carrying an estimated $360,000 in annual debt service. Marsette said targeted use of free cash and grant deferrals could reduce borrowing to around $2 million. Board member Paul DeRensis noted that an override, while undesirable, may be unavoidable: "If an override needs to happen, it needs to happen," Marsette said.

The board also voted unanimously to accept a donated scoreboard for the Jameson Field little league diamond, to be unveiled May 2.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of January 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.