Harwich Select Board Backs Military Banners, Dissolves Youth Services Committee

HARWICH -- June 15, 2026, Harwich Select Board unanimously backs military tribute banner program and raises lifeguard pay on new chair's first night. The board voted 5-0 Monday to support a seasonal military banner program that would display personalized 30-by-48-inch banners honoring service members on light poles in Harwich Center and Harwich Port from Memorial Day through Veterans Day, funded entirely through applicant fees of roughly $30 per banner. In a separate unanimous vote, the board approved pay grade increases for all 22 lifeguard positions and beach supervisory staff ahead of the June 27 beach opening, at an estimated cost of $60,000 within existing appropriations and still projecting a $40,000 turnback to the general fund. Recreation Program Specialist John Losey told the board Harwich currently ranks 10th among comparable Cape Cod communities in lifeguard pay and is not fully staffed, noting that "understaffed beaches are not an inconvenience, they are a safety and liability risk." The board also voted 5-0 to dissolve the Youth Services Committee, which has not met in three to four years, while tabling a proposal to dissolve the Harwich Accessibility Rights Committee pending Town Counsel review of whether state or federal law requires municipalities to maintain such a body.