Oakham Select Board Hears Barre Police Regionalization Plan, No Vote Taken

OAKHAM — April 24, 2026 — Oakham Select Board receives preliminary pitch from Barre Police on regional police department. The Barre Police chief presented preliminary cost figures to the Oakham Select Board at a special April 24 meeting, outlining a proposal under which Oakham would dissolve its local department and become part of Barre's South Patrol sector, with two officers assigned to cover South Barre and Oakham combined. Benefits for two officers were estimated at up to $57,000 annually — the high-end figure assuming both elect a family PPO plan — and a cruiser line item of $18,000 per year was included in the preliminary numbers; all figures exclude finalized wages, as Barre's officers' union contract is currently in its second month of negotiations. The chief said a January 1, 2027, target start date is possible but not firm, and that no memorandum of understanding has been drafted. Resident Lucy DeLeo, of 325 East Hill Road, pressed the chief on response times, the loss of a local police building, and exit provisions, to which the chief replied: "Small towns just aren't going to be able to afford, especially a 24-7 police department, just because of personnel costs and training costs and equipment costs." The board also voted unanimously to renew an accounting software contract with VADAR at $10,146 per year through fiscal year 2029.