Oakham Select Board Hires Highway Laborer, Plans Special Budget Session

OAKHAM — March 17, 2025 — Oakham Select Board unanimously hires a highway laborer and debates disposing of decades-old military plow trucks. The board on March 17 appointed Mike Granger of Branch Road as a non-CDL laborer for the highway department at approximately $24 per hour, with a six-month probationary period during which he is expected to obtain a commercial driver's license; Highway Superintendent Patrick told the board CDL training in Wisconsin can be completed for roughly $6,000 compared with more than $8,000 locally. Patrick also briefed the board on roughly $560,000 in accumulated Chapter 90 funds and a projected annual allotment increase to $329,890 beginning in fiscal year 2026, and asked for direction on whether to prioritize road paving or replace aging equipment — including a 1994 Kubota mower and a 1992 Oshkosh military plow truck — drawing pushback from one member who called it "pretty foolish to say you're going to get rid of a free truck that will out-plow anything anybody else has anywhere." The board also heard that Oakham's Quabbin Regional School District assessment for fiscal year 2026 stands at $2,790,789 after a $1.4 million district budget cut, while the Pathfinder Regional assessment rose roughly $50,000 to $256,500, and scheduled a joint budget working session with the Finance Committee for Wednesday, March 26.