Stockbridge Finance Committee Rejects Ambulance Capital Request, Clears $14 Million Budget

LENOX — May 11, 2026 — Stockbridge Finance Committee approves $14 million budget and clears most of town meeting warrant. Meeting Monday, the Finance Committee unanimously recommended a $14,050,689 operating budget for fiscal year 2027, representing a 4.7 percent increase driven by salary and insurance costs, along with the Berkshire Hills Regional School District operating budget of $4,287,081. The committee's most contested action was a 4-1 vote to recommend against a $50,000 capital contribution to the Southern Berkshire Volunteer Ambulance Service, which has provided 911 coverage to Stockbridge south of Dugway Road at no charge for 12 years. Patrick, a former CFO of the organization, told the committee the request amounted to "about $100 a call" over 500 paramedic responses to Stockbridge, but Chairman Jay Bykovsky and Select Board member Georgia Marsden cited the absence of any written proposal and the town's precedent against capitalizing outside nonprofits. Jim Bolfance cast the lone dissenting vote, arguing the town owed a debt of gratitude for years of unbilled service. The committee approved more than a dozen Community Preservation Committee allocations totaling roughly $536,000 and a full slate of free cash appropriations including $300,000 for ambulance supplies and $105,000 for a dam study; annual town meeting is set for May 18 at 6:30 p.m.