Oakham Select Board Weighs Override as FY2026 Budget Stays $6,000 in Deficit

OAKHAM — May 5, 2025 — Oakham Select Board moves toward a Proposition 2½ override as FY2026 budget remains $6,000 in deficit after $134,000 in cuts. The board reviewed a master budget spreadsheet prepared by the town accountant identifying an additional $97,000 in reductions — eliminating stipends, freezing cost-of-living increases for non-contracted positions, and cutting expense lines at less than 60 percent utilization — but a last-minute revision to the Worcester Regional Retirement System assessment, rising from a budgeted $102,000 to $122,443, erased a projected $14,000 surplus. Town officials discussed a $150,000 to $200,000 operational override, which on an average home assessed at $404,000 would cost roughly $200 a year. The board also voted unanimously to add two warrant articles repurposing $13,219.37 in old appropriation balances for the FY2026 Springbrook accounting software contract, and to close the annual town meeting warrant Monday, May 12 at noon, with a budget vote and formal override discussion moved to a regular meeting Tuesday, May 13.