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Written by Sara Withee (Feb. 20, 2026) – A month after nominations opened, five residents have returned the paperwork to run for local office in May, according to a list released by the Ayer Town Clerk’s office. The annual town election will be held on May 12, 2026. Meanwhile, there are 12 open seats, including…

(Feb. 11th) – The Ayer-Shirley Regional School District has now made preliminary budget presentations to both the Ayer and Shirley Select Boards. On Feb. 3rd, the school district met with the Ayer Select Board, Finance Committee and Town Manager, presenting a preliminary budget reflecting an 11.9 percent increase in Ayer’s operating assessment & debt and…

(Please note: on Feb. 24th, we updated our coverage to reflect that the committee voted to raise the sewer rate by 4 percent, not 5). (Feb. 10, 2026) – The Rate Review Committee has voted to recommend a 3 percent increase on water rates and 4 percent on sewer rates for FY2027. Meanwhile, the committee…

(Feb. 6, 2026) – The State Fire Marshal has ordered no further blasting related to the Lincoln Hill project, pending completion of an investigation into a large “flying rock” discharging onto a residential property, damaging a shed, according to the Town of Ayer. The Town of Ayer issued a statement on Friday, Feb. 6th. This…

Check out a few local stories from the week. We have updates on the Ayer-Shirley Regional School District budget and the Capital Planning Committee’s discussion on the Sandy Pond Beach House project. We also wrote about a new four-story building coming to Park Street. This will bring commercial space and 12 new apartments to the center of town. This is the one of the first major projects to be approved under Ayer’s Downtown/Park Street Form-Based Code District zoning.

In 2019, Town Meeting voted to approve the Downtown/Park Street Form-Based Code zoning district. Now, the Planning Board has approved what could be the first major project: a four-story mixed-use building, with commercial space and parking on the first floor and 12 residential units on the higher levels. The Planning Board voted on Jan. 27th…

(Feb. 4, 2026) – Over the past two weeks, the Capital Planning Committee has met twice and considered the Sandy Pond Beach House replacement project as part of its agenda. This week, committee members said they support the project, but it is difficult to move ahead without having design plans and a budget. “I’m just…

Now that voters have approved the financing, the Senior Center Site Selection/Building Committee is moving ahead in its work. The committee met on Jan. 29th and received the Design Development Plans from the architect. Three Phases Phase 1 was Schematic Design of the proposed senior center. This happened before the Special Town Meeting approval last…

Read our Jan. 30, 2026 email newsletter in two formats: Check out the Jan. 30, 2026 newsletter on a web page. Jan. 30, 2026 newsletter PDF format (you can click on the links and buttons). We do not have email newsletter sign-up at this time. We invite you to follow Ayer News Facebook page at…

Jan. 28, 2026 – Drivers: it’s time to learn your detours. The Town of Ayer plans to start the West Main Street bridge replacement in mid-March. The Department of Public Works led a 30-minute hybrid presentation from Ayer Town Hall on Wednesday night. About 30 people attended in-person and on Zoom, including town employees and…