Oakham Finance Committee Unanimously Approves FY26 Budget Leaving $350 to Spare

OAKHAM -- May 21, 2025, Oakham Finance Committee approves FY26 budget with roughly $350 between the town and its Proposition 2½ levy limit. The four-member committee voted 4-0 Wednesday to accept the Board of Selectmen's budget recommendation as submitted in a May 14 document, a spending plan built to the full levy limit with no override planned and relying on 100 percent of the town's certified free cash. Chair Corey Packard said he was "not comfortable" with the margin but acknowledged the town accountant had reviewed the figures and found them acceptable. In a separate 3-1 vote, the committee formally supported the Board of Selectmen's decision to eliminate the police chief's administrative assistant position, budgeted at $8,400 in FY25, after a former Oakham police chief explained the role was created specifically to support a part-time chief and is no longer necessary now that the chief works full-time. The committee also zeroed out the Council on Aging coordinator line, last funded at $12,480. Claire Hendra, a former Finance Committee chair with an MBA from Clark University and a background as chief accountant at Strathmore Paper, appeared for an introductory session as a prospective new member but cannot be appointed until she steps down from her Council on Aging roles and concludes a regional school agreement assignment expected to wrap up midsummer. Annual Town Meeting is scheduled for June 24.