Passing the town’s fiscal 2027 budget requires two separate votes—one at Town Meeting and one at the polls—and both must pass by a majority vote.

It was a close call, but the recent cold snap seems to have done only limited damage to Harvard’s orchards. However, as Chris Green of Westward Orchards said, “It’s still pretty early in the game to know what’s going on.”

Eight candidates have stepped forward this spring to fill expiring terms on Harvard’s four elected boards. None of the races is contested, but the Press saw the May 5 Annual Town Election as an opportunity for readers to learn about each of the candidates and their views.

The Select Board voted unanimously to approve a proposal to renovate the patio adjacent to the Harvard General Store at its meeting on Tuesday evening, April 28.

In response to residents’ complaints that town trash bags are too hard to find, the town has purchased a vending machine to dispense the bags from the porch of Hildreth House.

The culvert that keeps Eldridge Road from sinking into the Elizabeth Brook Reservoir, known locally as Eldridge Pond, has deteriorated and will eventually collapse, according to DPW Director Eric Ryder.

The Bare Hill Pond Watershed Management Committee announced at its meeting Monday, April 27, that it received a grant aimed at expanding community education around watershed stewardship.

By unanimous vote, Harvard’s Select Board banned the use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) on town-owned property, based on a recommendation made by the Conservation Commission.

At its meeting on April 13, the Harvard Board of Health voted unanimously to find an occupied house in Harvard unfit for habitation and ordered that it be vacated by May 1.

At Annual Town Meeting Saturday, May 2, voters will be asked to approve 30 articles. Roughly half ask to spend taxpayer dollars or transfer town funds to pay for town services and improvements, while the rest propose changes to town bylaws meant to expand the town’s solar overlay district and ease zoning constraints in town center.

Harvard’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2027 preserves core town services despite a surge of more than $543,000 in employee benefit costs. But it still comes up short.

The full fiscal 2027 budget request is printed on pages 59 through 65 of the Town Meeting booklet, available on the town website. The Finance Committee’s report, which opens the booklet, offers a plain-language guide to what’s there.

May 2 will mark Article 28’s third appearance on a Town Meeting warrant, following its debut in May 2025 and its reappearance on the September 2025 warrant.

Voters at Annual Town Meeting will be asked to consider Article 13.7, a recommendation from the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) to spend $242,000 to replace the floors in the Harvard Public Library’s Volunteers Hall and reading room.

A sweeping economic development bill filed by Gov. Maura Healey last week would replace the Devens Super Town Meeting with a single regional vote convened by MassDevelopment, the state agency that manages the former Army base.

With state legislators scheduled to begin appearing at its monthly meetings this summer, the Devens Committee is preparing a focused set of questions on jurisdiction, housing, and health care to put before them.