Oakham Boards Open Special Town Meeting Warrant, Target $279,535 in Stabilization Funds

OAKHAM -- September 10, 2025, Oakham's Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen met jointly September 10, agreeing to open and close a special town meeting warrant for October 6 that would authorize roughly $279,535 in withdrawals from the town's stabilization accounts. The largest single article, $120,400 from general stabilization, would fund the interim treasurer collector's office through June 30, 2026 after the FY26 budget line was effectively zeroed out mid-year; Town Accountant Lori Barkus warned that if the books are not closed, the state could withhold all local aid, including Chapter 90 highway funds and school aid, beginning March 1. Other proposed articles include $75,000 from general stabilization for legal fees, $25,000 for a municipal building feasibility study, $9,100 for a 5 percent fiber-grant match, and $50,035 from capital stabilization to outfit a new highway department truck with a plow and wing package. Both boards also aligned on a fiscal year 2027 budget process premised on a Proposition 2½ override, with Barkus stating the structural gap starts at the $170,000 in annual free-cash spending the town has used to balance its budget for more than a decade, and that FY25 free cash will not be certified until the treasurer's books are closed.