North Brookfield Special Town Meeting Approves All 29 Warrant Articles in 31 Minutes

NORTH BROOKFIELD -- April 17, 2026, North Brookfield's 2026 Special Town Meeting approved all 29 warrant articles in 31 minutes Friday, directing roughly $762,000 in mid-year fund transfers across municipal departments. Town Moderator Sheila Orsi called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. at the North Brookfield Elementary School; Finance Committee Chair Joe Trentacosta told residents before deliberations that his committee had reviewed every article and recommended approval. The meeting's largest single appropriation, Article 8, transferred $128,417.30 from free cash to purchase a new F-550 dump truck for the Highway Department; Article 6 added $70,000 for a new police cruiser. Voters also deposited $400,000 into stabilization reserves, $300,000 to the general stabilization fund and $100,000 to capital stabilization, and authorized $12,137 from capital improvement stabilization for fire department Jaws of Life accessories under a two-thirds vote. The only floor debate came on Article 26, when resident Sheila LeBlanc of 58 Show Road successfully moved to correct the expense account name in a $5,816 water department transfer from "miscellaneous wages" to "water salary other." Moderator Orsi recognized Board of Selectmen Chair Jason Potritus, who attended what she called likely his last Special Town Meeting after 18 years of service to the community.