Oakham Finance Committee Unanimously Recommends Full 19-Article Town Warrant

OAKHAM — June 18, 2025 — Oakham Finance Committee unanimously endorses 19-article warrant ahead of June 24 Annual Town Meeting. Chair Corey Packard led the three-member committee — with Vinny Pucci in person and Steve Dollinger remote — through a review of the fiscal year 2026 operating budget totaling $4,957,711.08, a $14,047.58 increase, or 0.79 percent, over FY25. The committee approved a routine $1,400 year-end line transfer from the Board of Selectmen Web and IT account to Streetlights and Electricity and then recommended all 19 warrant articles without objection. Notable budget increases include a $29,681.04 rise in employee benefits and a 50 percent jump in legal expenses from $10,000 to $15,000; savings came from eliminating coordinator or administrative positions at the Council on Aging ($12,480), Board of Health ($5,150), and Police Department ($4,463.35). Article 18, submitted by the Planning Board, asks residents to oppose a state siting-board petition by Moriega Storage LLC and Rhineland Energy LLC seeking relief from Oakham's zoning ban on battery energy storage systems — an item Packard warned could carry "substantial financial implications in the short and the long term."