Board OKs $273,924 write-off, Toys for Joy delegates

Select Board · Meeting of August 24, 2026

East Brookfield Select Board clears $273,924 in old ambulance debt, names Toys for Joy delegates. The board voted unanimously to authorize the chair to sign a disposition form writing off $273,924.78 in ambulance billing from 2016 through 2020 after a state law change cut the town's collection window from six to four years. Members also appointed Patty O'Neill and Pete O'Neill as the town's first formal delegates to the Brookfield-based Toys for Joy charity, after questioning why no East Brookfield resident had ever been appointed despite the group using the town's tax ID for decades.

"We have not accused anyone of that, no, not at all," one longtime volunteer said, pushing back on the board's questions. The board separately tabled a roughly $301,000 West Street paving comparison, tabled a draft social media policy pending input from the police, fire and highway departments, and voted to sign a roughly $2,500 intermunicipal waste agreement and appoint two backup recycling center attendants at no added payroll cost.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,263 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of August 24, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.