Ware Select Board Defers Override Vote, Orders Fire Department Staffing Study

Select Board · Meeting of February 19, 2026

Ware Select Board confronts a fire staffing crisis, a money-losing ambulance program, and a nearly $2 million budget gap. Fire Chief James Martinez told the board Tuesday that the Ware Fire Department fielded more than 3,100 calls for service in 2025, was short-staffed for 159 days, and hit its two-person contractual minimum for 42 additional days, warning that plugging the gap with overtime alone would cost $239,940 annually. The board voted unanimously to send Martinez back for a comparative survey of other departments before changing the ambulance subscription program, which ran a net loss of roughly $4,000 in both 2024 and 2025 against about $5,000 in annual revenue.

Town Manager Stuart Beckwith said the fiscal year 2027 budget gap is "approaching $2 million," prompting discussion of an operating override question for the April 13 ballot, but board members declined to set a vote, saying the timeline was "way too fast" for adequate public education. The board voted 5-0 to fund four special town meeting warrant articles, covering wastewater pumps, a school chiller, fire hydrant replacement, and a parks grant match totaling $82,500, from the stabilization account after Beckwith said he was "not highly hopeful" free cash certification would arrive before the March 2 town meeting.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of February 19, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.