Oakham Finance Committee Appoints New Member, Reviews $37,000 in Proposed Spending Cuts

OAKHAM — April 9, 2025 — Oakham Finance Committee adds member, weighs $37,000 in service cuts ahead of town meeting. The three-member committee, chaired by Brad Battersby with Steve Dollinger participating remotely, voted unanimously to appoint Vincent Pucci, a semi-retired engineer and product development consultant who has lived in town for 12 years. The meeting's central business was a review of an informal but detailed cut package totaling $37,389.11 that the Select Board has discussed but not yet voted, targeting positions including the police department administrative assistant, the animal control officer, the Board of Health administrative assistant, and the Council on Aging coordinator — whose elimination alone accounts for $12,480. Even applying the town's entire free cash balance of $358,106.51, the FY2026 budget carries a projected deficit of just under $49,000; the proposed cuts would narrow that to roughly $12,000. A Select Board member attending informally noted that five years of not levying the full Proposition 2½ increase has left the town approximately $330,000 behind in cumulative levy capacity, while Quabbin Regional's assessment rises $115,000 and Pathfinder Regional's rises $50,000 for the coming year. Resident Aaron Langloyd, 640 Scott Road, challenged the Board of Health cut, warning that with one of the board's two members not seeking reelection, no paid staff would remain to handle permits, correspondence, and administrative work.