Select Board OKs Stipend for Acting Fire Chief

Select Board · Meeting of October 19, 2026

BARRE — The Barre Select Board approved a $789.60 biweekly stipend for the deputy fire chief covering an absent chief and hired a new probationary firefighter at $26 an hour. The board, meeting without Chair Dr. Maureen Marshall, also voted that town donation accounts now require a formal Select Board vote before spending, following guidance from the state Department of Local Services. Town Clerk Ellen told the board the town has mailed more than 700 ballots at $1.37 each ahead of the November 3 election and will conduct "advance processing" of ballots on October 30 to speed counting.

"We have to account for every single ballot that the town receives," she said. Members also approved a memorial bench honoring Army veteran Gregory Donilon and a Halloween parade permit for the Ruggles Lane PTO.

In the full story:

• Approval of Minutes
• Town Administrator Updates
• Town Administrator Performance Evaluation
• Election Preparations for the November 3 State Election
• Monuments and Memorials: Bench for Gregory Donilon
• Commons Committee Consolidation
• Special Accounts, Donations and Expenditures
• Special Events Permit: Ruggles Lane PTO Halloween Event
• Personnel: Deputy Fire Chief Stipend and New Firefighter Hire
• Elections Worker Appointments for 2026-2027
• Old Business: Local 340 Collective Bargaining Agreement
• Adjournment
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,117 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of October 19, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.