Dover Select Board Unanimously Renews Town Administrator's Three-Year Contract

DOVER — May 29, 2026 — Dover Select Board reorganizes and locks in Town Administrator Michael Blanchard through June 2029. Meeting with only two of three members present — Cameron Hudson was on vacation — the board voted 2-0 Thursday to approve a new three-year contract for Blanchard, effective July 1, 2026, noting his salary had fallen below market and required adjustment under a recently completed town wage study. Member Robin Hunter called the change "a win-win for both the town and for Mike." David Havilland was confirmed as the new board chair under Dover's rotation tradition, Hudson was confirmed as clerk in absentia, and committee assignments were deferred until Hudson returns. The board also unanimously endorsed a Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School transfer of $325,000 from excess and deficiency funds into the school's capital stabilization account — alongside a separate $425,000 OPEB transfer — and approved a new residential water connection at 29 Springdale Avenue contingent on compliance with Dover's water use bylaw and Aquarian Water irrigation limits.