Deerfield Selectboard Approves Cemetery Fee Hike, Protects 31-Acre Town Forest

DEERFIELD -- January 7, 2026, Deerfield Selectboard approves cemetery fee increase, conservation land protection, and five other actions at January 7 meeting. State Senator Jo Comerford opened the meeting with a wide-ranging legislative briefing, calling the state's fiscal year 2026 budget smaller than the prior year and warning that roughly $16 billion in federal funding flowing through the state's approximately $61 billion budget is now uncertain, with a federal revenue provision potentially cutting an additional $665 million from state revenues. Comerford urged the board to support her rural school aid bill and described a newly established PILOT commission she has joined alongside Representative Natalie Blais to fix what she called a formula that "makes Deerfield pay essentially by devaluing Deerfield relative to Nantucket." The board voted unanimously to raise cemetery lot fees from $350 to $650 effective July 1, 2026, to permanently protect a 31-acre Siano Road parcel as a town forest under Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution, to extend a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant coordinator contract through June 30, 2026, to support a Community Preservation Act application for the 1821 Meeting House clock tower, and to approve a Class 2 dealer's license for Two Feathers. The board gave a first reading to a draft transfer station solicitation policy but sent it back to staff for revisions to address safety concerns about the existing designated area.