Price to dig in public streets going up

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Westborough – The price of digging up the town's public roads is going up.

Following the recommendation of Department of Public Works Director John Walden, the Board of Selectmen May 27 voted to increase the cost of a road opening permit from $20 to $150.

Town Manager Jim Malloy said the town has not changed or reviewed its road opening permit fee in several years and that a review of other communities’ rates found that Westborough had the lowest cost.

Prices in other communities surveyed ranged from $120 to more than $300, he said.

The town processes around 1,300 permits per year, and each one takes several hours of town employee time to process and oversee, according to Assistant DPW Director Richard Voutas.

Selectmen also approved an updated version of the existing veterans” tax work-off program, expanding it to include spouses of disabled or deceased veterans.

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