Finance Committee backs 1.34 percent tax shift for 2027

City Council · Meeting of October 27, 2026

ATTLEBORO — The Attleboro Municipal Council's Finance Committee voted unanimously to set the fiscal 2027 tax classification shift at 1.34 percent, matching assessors' recommendation and continuing the council's multiyear predictability policy. Mayor Cathy Marsh told councilors she has named Mark Cooper, Walter Vivar, Cheryl Harris and Sarah Fender to a nine-member Charter Study Committee and announced a zoo-operations request for information closing November 16. The Human Resources and Veterans Committee voted 2-1 to advance Mary Heim's appointment as water superintendent amid lingering concerns, with one member warning "I am concerned that we could be back here in a year." The council set a special school committee election for March 2, 2027, appropriating $40,825.

Economic Development Director Chris McDermott reported about $20.9 million in new investment and 544 jobs tied to recent business relocations, including a $15 million, 113-job CPS Technologies move. Councilors tabled naming their four Charter Study Committee picks after objections over the selection process.

In the full story:

• Mayor's roundtable: charter committee, zoo RFI, staffing
• Confirmation of Mary Heim as Water Superintendent
• Economic Development update
• Implications and what is next: McDermott was invited to return with an update "sometime in the new year."
• Charter Study Committee membership
• School committee vacancy and special election
• Tax classification shift set at 1.34 percent
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,629 words

Source: the City Council meeting of October 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.