Carver Select Board Denies Home-Based Used Car License, Resets Tax Shift to 1.45

CARVER — December 2, 2025 — Carver Select Board denies home-based used car license and flags $1.5 million health insurance shortfall. The board voted two to three against issuing a Class 2 dealer license to Phillip Shainas at 9 Island Farm Road after Building Commissioner Rod Palmer testified that no dealer vehicle should ever be stored at a residential address and neighbors Anita and Terry Carey testified that vehicles with dealer and veteran plates were already on the driveway. In a separate redo of a November 18 tax classification hearing driven by corrected levy figures, the board unanimously adopted a residential factor of 0.9104, restoring the 1.45 tax shift in place from 2020 through 2024, which will raise the average single-family home tax bill by $272 and the average commercial bill by $296 — a $24 difference. Town Administrator Glenn Cannon disclosed that the Gateway Municipal Health Group, which disbands June 30, 2026, projects a $3 million group-wide deficit, leaving Carver on the hook for roughly $1.5 million; Insurance Advisory Committee member Pat Maher attributed the shortfall to premiums set artificially low by the Gateway Board in a two-to-one vote, spiking utilization, and years of administrative instability.