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."