Tewksbury Select Board Approves License Transfers, Opens FY2027 Budget Season

TEWKSBURY -- January 27, 2026, Tewksbury Select Board opens FY2027 budget season with a $151 million general fund, approves two food-service license transfers, and hears sharp public pushback against the town's Flock Safety surveillance cameras. The town manager, identified variously in the transcript as "Mr. Cummings" and "Mr. Curran", presented a budget reflecting a $5.6 million increase over the prior year, of which $1.7 million on the town side is consumed by a 13 percent spike in group health insurance and a $689,000 retirement assessment increase; a five-year forecast projects a potential deficit of $2.6 million as early as FY2028. The board unanimously approved a common victualer license for new owners of Anthony's Roast Beef at 1921 Main Street and both a common victualer license and a liquor license transfer for Main Street Sports Grill at 1268 Main Street to Navia and Yvonne Inc., with attorney Tom Truex of Salem representing incoming principals Vishal Sharma and Kalpesh Kumar Patel. Five residents, including AI professional Chris Lackey and video surveillance engineer Eric Strandberg, urged the board to cancel the town's contract with Flock Safety, citing data-sharing with federal immigration agencies, cybersecurity failures, and cameras found streaming live online without a password; Chair Eric Ryder said the board would follow up with the police chief.