Oakham Finance Committee backs Special Town Meeting spending articles totaling $36,500

OAKHAM -- January 15, 2025, Oakham Finance Committee reviews Special Town Meeting warrant articles and flags school budget concerns. The three-member committee, chaired by Corey Packard and including Brad Battersby and a remote Steve Gallinger, reviewed two Special Town Meeting warrant articles at its January 15 meeting, signaling support for both without formal vote. Article 1 would transfer $15,000 from the Assessors' stabilization account to fund a property revaluation, requiring a two-thirds town meeting vote; Article 2 would appropriate $21,500 from free cash to restore cuts across the Police, Fire, Town Clerk, Board of Selectmen, and Town Counsel accounts. The Fire Department's $4,000 training wages restoration drew particular support from Packard, who cited the department's heavy fall 2024 response to brush fires and two structure fires. Town spending stood at 51.55 percent at the fiscal year's halfway point, which members called reassuring. Gallinger disclosed he has been spending time in Texas for business and the committee reviewed a prior Town Counsel opinion finding that Finance Committee members remain eligible to serve until registering to vote in another jurisdiction. Oakham's Quabbin Regional enrollment has fallen to 210 students as of October 1, 2024, down from 236 two years prior.