Orleans Voters Approve $55 Million Fire Station Bond 365 to 154

ORLEANS — May 11, 2026 — Orleans voters authorized up to $55 million to build a new fire rescue station, passing the measure 365 to 154 at the May 11 Annual Town Meeting at Nauset Middle School. Fire Chief Jeff Deering told the roughly 500 voters present that the existing 1987 station — designed for 12 to 15 full-time staff — now houses 33 full-timers handling nearly 2,900 calls per year, with dispatch-to-departure times running more than twice the national standard. Architect Ted Galante of the Galante Architectural Studio described a two-story net-zero facility with rooftop solar projected to generate more than $5 million in operational savings over the building's life. The Select Board voted 5-0 and the Finance Committee 6-0 with three abstentions in support, though abstaining Finance Committee member Alice Thomas said the vote came before a "complete design" was in hand as promised by last year's warrant language. The authorization is contingent on a separate Proposition 2.5 debt exclusion ballot question; the first payment would not appear on tax bills until FY2031, at a projected annual cost of $450 to $480 for the median home. Voters also adopted a $56,598,164 FY2027 operating budget as amended — including a $26,000 assessor's budget increase to explore a residential tax exemption — and approved $2.7 million to begin preliminary engineering for Phase 4 of the town's wastewater system covering South Orleans.