Select Board Weighs Police Merger With Oakham

Select Board · Meeting of April 23, 2026

Barre's Select Board explored a plan to provide round-the-clock police coverage to neighboring Oakham while warning its draft FY27 budget still runs a $239,000 deficit. Oakham's current police budget is $266,636; Barre estimated it would cost $199,956 to provide Oakham 24/7 coverage, active patrols and a dedicated school resource officer, though board members said the figures omit benefits and liability costs. "I don't want to have us enter into any kind of agreement that is counterintuitive," one member said.

Oakham's police chief, Fred Goering, would stay on at Oakham's expense to help the transition toward a possible January 2027 start. Town Administrator Melanie Jackson said the town cannot absorb a 6.16 percent school assessment increase and cautioned, "you can't rely on free cash for recurring expenses," with general stabilization at just $178,000. The board voted unanimously to keep talks with Oakham moving and authorized the chair to meet with the school district on resource-officer funding.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of April 23, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.