Select Board delays highway superintendent vote

Select Board · Meeting of October 8, 2026

Brookfield's Select Board delayed a vote on a new highway superintendent and called an emergency meeting for Tuesday, October 13. Vice Chair Richard A. Chaffee and Clerk Beth L. Coughlin, the only two members present, disagreed over finalists Mark O'Donnell, Tom and Devin, with Chair Sarah Campbell absent for medical reasons. Chaffee said "I firmly believe that Mark is who will take Brookfield at this late stage in the game and get us through a successful winter," while Coughlin said she would not call either rival candidate "a chair jockey." Board members said five of the department's primary trucks are currently down and outside repair contractors cost nearly $200 an hour.

The board separately voted unanimously to post vacant veterans agent and highway mechanic positions.

In the full story:

• Veterans Agent Vacancy and an Interim Staffing Idea
• Highway Superintendent Search: Four Candidates Down to Two Views
• The Case for Mark O'Donnell
• Equipment, Unpaid Bills and a Disputed Evaluation
• Public Comment: A Call for the Full Board, and a Call to Act Now
• Mechanic Position: Discovered Unposted
• Procedural Steps and Outcome
• Implications and What Is Next
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 1,638 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of October 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.