East Brookfield Select Board Extends Trash Contract, Appoints Part-Time Police Officer

EAST BROOKFIELD — June 22, 2026 — East Brookfield Select Board extends trash contract, hires part-time officer, and flags town hall heating crisis. The board voted unanimously Monday to approve a one-year curbside collection extension with Republic Services at $176,342.77, running through June 30, 2027, while noting that a five-year renewal next year would carry significantly lower rates and better align with the town's expiring Wheelabrator waste-disposal contract, where tipping fees have escalated from roughly $46 a ton to $96 a ton over 20 years. The board also unanimously appointed William J. Finkellen Jr. — a Springfield firefighter, Hampden County deputy sheriff, and Marine Corps veteran — as a part-time police officer. In a discussion that drew no vote but produced clear urgency, members warned that the town hall's center-core heating units are non-repairable and must be replaced before mid-September at an estimated installed cost of $100,000, with grant funding through CMRPC likely too slow and the $25,000 HVAC study earmark from Senator Durant's office still unsecured.