Arlington Select Board Approves 4.5 Percent Water Rate Hike, Five Bylaw Measures

ARLINGTON — March 9, 2026 — Arlington Select Board approves 4.5 percent water and sewer rate increase and votes favorable action on five warrant articles at March 9 meeting. The board unanimously approved a 4.49 percent sewer and 4.48 percent water rate increase for fiscal year 2027, effective July 1, which amounts to roughly $54 more per year for an average household using 60 CCF annually, according to DPW Director Michael Rademacher. Town Manager James Feeney disclosed that snow and ice spending has already exceeded $1.9 million against a $1,172,000 budget — including $613,000 in salt and $555,000 each in DPW overtime and contracted plowing — with the final figure expected to surpass $2 million after 23 events and approximately 56 inches of snowfall. The board voted 3 to 2 to send a native plantings bylaw to town meeting over objections that a town manager policy would be more flexible, while unanimously recommending favorable action on a revised outdoor lighting bylaw, two Conservation Commission enforcement measures, and a Tree Committee formalization bylaw. A citizen petition to expand tree protection to all private-property trees 10 inches DBH and larger received a unanimous no-action vote, with board members citing insufficient administrative capacity data.