Oakham Select Board Approves $63,967 Transfer, Hears Assessors Staffing Alarm

Select Board · Meeting of June 29, 2026

Oakham Select Board clears a $63,967 snow and ice deficit and hears urgent warning about the Board of Assessors. At a special meeting Monday, the board approved a year-end line item transfer drawing from highway, town clerk, fire, and other departmental salary and expense lines to cover a FY26 snow removal shortfall of $63,967.29, which will go to the Finance Committee for final approval. Board of Assessors member Susan Turnbull told the Select Board the three-member assessors board is losing members and she cannot carry the office alone: "When you become a Board of One, you're going to have a Board of Zero because I am not qualified to take over from a professional assessor who has been doing this job for at least 15 years." Turnbull said the town's contracted assessing firm, RGG, cannot fill the gap, and the office's duties — including personal property taxes, chapter land calculations, and pilot-in-lieu-of-tax work — exceed the contracted scope.

The board also processed a full slate of FY27 appointments and learned the current town clerk intends to leave by September 1, weeks before September primaries and a November federal election.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,665 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of June 29, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.