Lincoln Select Board honors retiring DPW superintendent, opens FY26 budget review

LINCOLN — December 2, 2024 — Lincoln Select Board honors retiring DPW chief and opens FY26 budget cycle. The board recognized Superintendent Chris Bibbo for 20 years of service ahead of his Dec. 31 retirement, with Town Administrator Tim Higgins saying Bibbo "treats the town budget like it's his family's budget." Higgins then walked the board through preliminary FY26 figures: departments' base requests came in at 2.57 percent against 2.5 percent Finance Committee guidance, with another $60,000 in restorations and $249,000 in preferred items — including a part-time Planning Department assistant, a 14th police officer, $10,000 for dead-tree removal and new PFAS testing — pushing the package to a 5.2 percent increase. Higgins projected $500,000 to $750,000 in recurring FY27 savings from regionalized emergency dispatch. The board also reported a $325,000 Lincoln 250 transportation request to Sen. Michael Barrett was denied, leaving $100,000 for shuttles.