Stockbridge Annual Town Meeting Approves $14 Million Budget and Ambulance Funding

STOCKBRIDGE — May 18, 2026 — Stockbridge annual town meeting approves more than $14 million in spending, including first-ever payment to Southern Berkshire Ambulance Service. The May 18 meeting, attended by roughly 130 residents using a new electronic voting system, passed the $9,726,599 general operating budget and a $4,287,081 Berkshire Hills Regional School District assessment after little debate, but spent nearly an hour on two contested sub-items under Article 9. Finance Committee member Rich Bradway read a fire chief email showing Southern Berkshire made only two calls to its primary Furnace District coverage area in FY26, not the 49-call figure used in the committee's April review — prompting a Southern Berkshire representative to cite zip-code data errors and note that neighboring Alford approved $83,811 for comparable service. Residents voted 119-15 to pay $25,000 for Furnace District coverage and 76-54 to contribute $25,000 toward the organization's new ambulance purchase — the first time Stockbridge has paid the service in the roughly 12 years it has operated as a paid agency. A floor amendment to raise the library's town-funded operating share from 50 percent to 60 percent at a cost of $68,000 failed 30-104 after the library board president said the organization was not seeking additional funds.