Marshfield Select Board Split Over Placing Override Question on Ballot

MARSHFIELD -- March 30, 2026, Marshfield Select Board fractures publicly over override ballot as town administrator resigns. The three-member board convened March 30 for what was posted as a single executive-session item but instead became a public confrontation over the back-to-back resignations of Town Administrator Charlie Sumner and Select Board member Trish Simpson, and over whether voters will get a ballot vote on a Proposition 2½ override. Board member Steve Darcy pressed member Eric Kelly directly before public comment, asking whether Kelly would support placing the override question on a special-election ballot; Kelly said no, citing the $7 million figure as too large a burden on residents. Darcy countered by playing audio from the board's unanimous March 25 vote, in which Kelly moved the motion, directing Sumner to establish a $7 million base budget for town meeting. Four residents addressed the board during public comment, each arguing Kelly's refusal to schedule a ballot vote was anti-democratic. Member Peter Schafer, who is serving as acting administrator, said he would meet with department heads the following day to build budget-impact scenarios for each spending option ahead of the April 27 town meeting, telling the board and public, "If I left, I would be contributing to the chaos that I have been fighting against since I started here as the interim town administrator." The board voted 3-0 to enter executive session on a lease amendment at 23 Clay Pit Road involving Next Grid NFF Marshfield LLC.