Residents press Cumberland officials for action after reports of rat infestation and lingering health concerns

Ms. Parks, a lifelong Cumberland resident, told the council she and her husband have found rats nesting in a wall of their family home and cannot safely access their cellar or garden. "They're building their nest in my wall," she said, asking the council what the town is doing to help.

Sharon Coyle, who identified herself as a Cumberland resident and a neighbor of Ms. Parks, said the problem extends beyond a single house. She said she paid $800 to a private pest-control company and has seen rats walking across streets near her home. "I will pick it outside of this place if I don't get an answer from someone," Coyle said, adding that she will publicize the issue if officials do not respond.

Coyle also said that from about 2008 to 2012 roughly a dozen children in the East Earl Street area had strokes and that families never received satisfactory answers; she linked that earlier public-health concern to what she described as a broader pattern of inadequate responses. The comment was an allegation by a resident and was not defended at the meeting with documentary evidence.

Mayor Jeff Mud, speaking via Zoom, said he had heard of the rodent reports earlier in the day and disputed any suggestion of a cover-up. "There's no covering up of anything," he said, and asked for proof before assigning blame.

The council did not take formal action during the meeting on the rodent complaints. Residents described steps they already had taken—traps, poison and private contractors (one resident said she paid $800 to the contractor)—and urged the town to provide a coordinated response that addresses both removal and potential public-health risks.

The council is taking up its annual budget process at forthcoming meetings; the chair announced a finance subcommittee meeting on May 26, 2026, a first public hearing on May 27, a second hearing and vote on June 3, and a final vote scheduled for June 8. Those budget meetings will be opportunities for residents to press for funding or town action on pest control and related health concerns.