Rutland canceled its Fourth of July celebration this year, even as the United States marks its 250th anniversary, and town leaders are now racing to see whether any version of the holiday can be saved before summer begins to close in. The town’s Select Board is set to meet Monday to consider closing a warrant article that would fully fund the budget for July and August, a move that could send the question to voters on June 16.
Sheila Dibb, a member of the Select Board, called the proposal “This is a Hail Mary” at a Wednesday meeting. She said the board was looking at using free cash from previous fiscal years to help carry the town into fiscal year 2027 beginning July 1. “It would allow us to, at least temporarily, not lay off anybody, while we try again,” she said. She also said, “It might allow us to bring back some of Fourth of July.”
That would not restore the holiday in full, but it could buy time for a town that has been forced to make public decisions in quick succession. Earlier Wednesday, Rutland leaders sent a letter saying the cancellation was “not related to funding availability or intended as a response to any community viewpoints” and was “based solely on public safety considerations.” The letter did not mention the override residents rejected earlier this month, even though officials said that multi-year property tax increase package was needed to address a $3 million structural deficit.
The deficit now hangs over every part of the discussion. Police Chief Nicholas Monaco said his department has been “crucified all week,” and warned he is set to lose four full-time officers, three part-time officers, three special officers and five firefighters. Monaco described the situation as a “Fourth of July rescue mission,” adding, “Don’t get me wrong, I love the Fourth of July, and I want to save it, but I want to save my employees more.” Dibb later said, “this is about saving a department that you have worked for a decade to build.”
Rutland officials said several long-standing Fourth of July traditions will still go on, including the Junior Olympics, road race, pancake breakfast, volleyball tournament and other community activities. The town is also keeping money donated by residents and businesses for the festivities and will not refund those individual contributions. The cancellation puts Rutland in the same awkward company as Framingham, which also dropped its annual patriotic festivities, “The 4th Annual Stars & Stripes,” citing “significant budget constraints” and “limited staffing resources.”
Worcester Sheriff Lew Evangelidis added a new twist on Thursday, sending a letter to the Rutland Select Board offering sworn deputies, civilian volunteers and other resources to help allow the originally planned festivities or a scaled-down version. His offer pushes the town toward a practical choice rather than a symbolic one: whether to stand by the cancellation, revive part of the celebration, or use the coming weeks to stabilize the budget and avoid layoffs. For a Central Massachusetts town of around 9,000 people, the next vote is likely to decide more than a holiday schedule.
