Select Board Appoints New Town Clerk

Select Board · Meeting of October 13, 2026

Rutland Select Board appointed a new town clerk and opened debate on redirecting ambulance revenue to shore up fire staffing. The board voted unanimously, following a scored interview process, to appoint a finalist identified as Benjamin over runner-up Elizabeth, 398 points to 352, to a three-year term. Fire Chief told the board the department has needed outside mutual aid 38 times in three months, including a 38-minute wait during a resident's stroke, and proposed holding back $165,000 of ambulance revenue under a new Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40, Section 5F reserve account rather than voting Tuesday.

The board also weighed turning off most town streetlights November 30, with residents able to "adopt" a light for an estimated $13 to $15 a month, calling the lapsed streetlight funding one that "fell through the cracks." Both the ambulance article and the streetlight article were held for Thursday's continued warrant session ahead of the November 19 Fall Town Meeting.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 4,276 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of October 13, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.