Harwich Select Board Approves $86.7 Million Budget, Ends 20-Year Herring Run Closure

HARWICH — March 23, 2026 — Harwich Select Board unanimously approves an $86.7 million budget and reopens the town herring run for the first time in over 20 years. The board voted 5-0 Monday on the fiscal year 2027 general fund budget, which Finance Director Jennifer Mince said will cost the median homeowner — at just over $1 million in assessed value — roughly $60 more per year. The budget uses no free cash to balance operations, doubles the Finance Committee reserve fund to $250,000, and carries a $33.1 million Monomoy Regional School District assessment, a 6.3 percent increase driven largely by an $820,000 health insurance jump and 10.5 fewer staff positions tied to declining enrollment. Town Administrator Jay Gerber said, "This is a budget that uses no free cash to balance the budget, and that's historically been something Harwich has done for the last few years." The board also voted 5-0 to approve amended Herring-Alewife regulations drafted by Natural Resources Director Stephanie Radenauer, establishing a limited recreational dip-net harvest targeting just 2.9 percent of the run's estimated 550,000-fish mean — well below the 10 percent threshold the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission considers sustainable — with 150 permits available beginning April 4.