Oakham Boards Eye Early Debt Payoff From Stabilization Funds Before Override Vote

OAKHAM — July 10, 2025 — Oakham Finance Committee and Select Board open override strategy talks, weigh stabilization spending. The two boards met jointly on July 10 and, after processing more than a dozen fiscal year 2025 year-end line transfers — including $14,000 shifted to highway sand and salt, $12,480 from the Council on Aging coordinator account to sand and salt, and $5,406 from police training to the town clerk's salary — turned to a broader question: whether to use the town's stabilization reserves to retire the municipal building loan, which runs through 2039, and potentially the regional school roof debt as well. As of June 20, the town held $617,816 in general stabilization and roughly $480,000 in capital stabilization. Select Board member Don argued that carrying large reserves while seeking a Proposition 2½ override "doesn't look good" to voters, and that early payoff — projected to save roughly $103,000 in interest — would also eliminate a debt exclusion line from tax bills. Members also agreed to reserve approximately $75,000 in legal funds from stabilization for anticipated litigation tied to a battery storage facility project, with Don warning after reviewing docket documents that the matter is "not a slam dunk."