NORWAY — Town residents will be asked to approve funding of up to $800,000 for a new firetruck at the annual Town Meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
Residents will also be asked to approve the proposed municipal budget of $5.7 million and accept a change to the Street Vendor Ordinance.
The Town Meeting will be held in the Forum of Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in Paris on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
The price tag for the new firetruck includes the purchase price plus the cost to equip the vehicle. Much of the funding exists in the town’s reserve account. If additional funding is required, the article would allow the Board of Selectmen to seek bank financing “at an interest rate and payment schedule deemed acceptable by the Selectboard at their discretion.”
The town has been placing $50,000 per year in the reserve account in anticipation of this purchase.
The one proposed change to the town’s ordinances relates to street vendors. The proposed change would lift the requirement that vendors close during the winter months and allow them to operate year round.
The proposed municipal budget represents a 9% increase. The biggest jump in the budget is the request from Norway Paris Solid Waste for $477,200. The organization has faced budget difficulties for the past year due to rising costs, lower returns on recycling and the need to update its equipment. The budget request is 63.4% higher than the total approved a year ago. Paris, which shares the costs equally with Norway, will consider the same amount at its Town Meeting the same night.
The town’s request for capital projects, which include road projects and capital reserves for future projects, remains the same as last year at $542,000.
Spending plans for the Police Department and Highways and Public Works departments together top $1 million. Both accounts are up nearly 7% due to wages, insurance, fuel and maintenance.
Voters will be asked to approve taking $2,181,850 from anticipated revenues to offset the tax rate.
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