Oakham Interviews Sole Applicant for Treasurer-Collector as Vacancy Looms Friday

OAKHAM — January 7, 2025 — Oakham Select Board interviews sole treasurer-collector candidate as position empties Friday. The three-member board — Don Habakoski, Lucy Tesnow, and Michael Brunel — spent roughly 90 minutes Tuesday questioning Marsha Sands, a retired Lancaster treasurer-collector, about the town's part-time, 15-hour-per-week opening. Sands flagged that the town's primary bank, Unibank, has lost its Depositors Insurance Fund protection, leaving balances above $250,000 exposed unless an overnight sweep arrangement is in place — something board members said they were unaware of. She also raised urgency around the town's tax-title accounts, noting a November 2024 state law overhaul made the process "a very different process" and that it would have been "beneficial" to have secured any delinquent accounts before November 1. The position is currently funded at $33,857 annually; Sands calculated her preferred rate of $45 per hour at 15 hours per week would total $35,100 — a $1,243 gap the board said could be addressed at a January 27 special town meeting. No appointment was made.