December 23, 2024
TOWN MEETINGS

Oakfield may delay town meeting

OAKFIELD – At this point, the Oakfield annual town meeting is slated to be held on Monday, March 27.

But that may not happen, as some residents feel the meeting shouldn’t take place until the town gets its yearly audit back.

Residents will convene for the meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at the Oakfield Community Center, and decide whether to continue.

Town Manager Darrell Williams said Friday that a snarl in the town’s tax software prevented some information from getting to town auditor Peter Davis.

That means the audit is unlikely to be returned to the town before late April.

A group of residents recently drafted an open letter to the town, which also was printed in a weekly newspaper. The nine authors wrote that they believed the town’s auditor “should examine and review all the town’s financial records for 2005” before they pass a new budget, and that they “should not be expected or requested to vote on incomplete or possibly inaccurate information.”

Williams explained Friday that if the town meeting does not occur, Oakfield will most likely have to shut down for three days until a special meeting can be held.

He speculated that town officials would then vote to appropriate money from a surplus fund to run the town.

During those three days, only emergency services would continue to operate, the town manager said. Officials could not open the town office or the transfer station or conduct other municipal business.

Should it be business as usual, voters will be asked to approve a $299,071 municipal budget, which is up approximately $19,000 over last year.

At the polls, voters will need to choose one representative on the Board of Selectmen. Incumbent Mike Swallow is seeking re-election for the three-year term and is being challenged by Robert “Harley” Dickinson.

Although no one is running for the position, residents will also need to elect one person to serve on the CSD 9 school board.

The polls will be open at the town office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the meeting commencing at the OCC at 7 p.m.


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