Oakham Appoints Highway Superintendent, Sets June 22 Town Meeting With $25,000 Budget Gap

OAKHAM — May 4, 2026 — Oakham Select Board appoints highway superintendent, sets June 22 town meeting as joint budget session leaves $25,000 gap. The board unanimously signed a contract with Mike Granger as highway superintendent at a salary of $75,000 for Fiscal Year 2027 and set the Annual Town Meeting for June 22, 2026 at 7 p.m. at the school. In a joint session with the Finance Committee, chaired by Corey Packard, the two bodies worked through police, highway, and town clerk budgets — eliminating the assistant town clerk position, tripling poll worker and election expense lines to $9,000 each to cover three FY27 elections, and reclassifying the police chief to part time at $48,503 — before landing at a projected deficit of $24,956.63. Packard called an override "inevitable," noting Oakham has been level-funded for more than 12 years, while the town accountant's written memo warned against tapping the stabilization fund to close the gap. The Finance Committee's next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 13 at 7 p.m.