Oakham Boards Balance FY27 Budget, Vote to Pursue $75,000 More for Battery Fight

OAKHAM -- May 28, 2026, Oakham's Select Board and Finance Committee jointly balanced the fiscal year 2027 operating budget and reviewed a 17-article Annual Town Meeting warrant at their May 28 joint session. The boards closed a roughly $2,000 gap by eliminating the Select Board's $4,413 stipend line and accepting a written declination from Town Moderator Mark Turnbull, who agreed to forgo his $300 stipend for the duration of his term, leaving the budget with approximately $3,007 to spare. The Quabbin Regional School District assessment was confirmed at $2,885,581.28, $5,000 less than projected after an unfilled JROTC instructor position eliminated Navy reimbursement funds. The most contentious warrant article is Article 14, a $75,000 draw from general stabilization to continue legal proceedings before the Energy Facilities Siting Board opposing a proposed battery energy storage facility, a request that would reduce the town's general stabilization fund from roughly $399,000 to approximately $222,000, having already spent $150,000 on the same fight. Finance Committee Chair Corey Packard said it is "very important that the town know that there's not an unlimited" fund for litigation, while members also spent nearly an hour unable to reconcile where a $38,000 surplus in the town's DCR watershed pilot payment sits on the books, agreeing to ask Town Accountant Lori for a detailed accounting. The Annual Town Meeting is scheduled for June 22 at 7 p.m. at the school.