LITCHFIELD — Residents will vote Saturday at town meeting on a budget that includes improved firetrucks and a new plow truck.
The $1,678,759 proposed budget is $78,000, or 4.6 percent, higher than the current year. Town Manger Mike Byron said there’s room in the town’s $1.2 million fund balance to pull that $78,000 and keep the tax rate at $11.95 were it not for the school budget.
“That’s quite a feat,” Byron said.
If a referendum passes Tuesday on the RSU 4 budget and the town budget passes Saturday as-is, the tax rate will increase to $12.65.
Included in the 59-article warrant:
* $405,000 for firetrucks.
Bryon said $105,000 could come from the town’s capital equipment reserve account, a move selectmen and the Budget Committee support. The balance would come from a $300,000 bond spread over 10 years.
With the funds, a 5,000-gallon tanker would be replaced with a new tanker that has either a 2,000- or 3,000-gallon capacity. A second, existing tanker would be outfitted with a new compressed air foam unit to make up some of that water difference.
“It makes the water that the truck carries much more efficient,” said Deputy Fire Chief Darryl Ellis, making the second tanker’s 1,000 gallons of water the equivalent of 3,000 to 7,000 gallons.
One more firetruck would be refurbished and two service trucks originally given to the town for free would be retired, replaced with one new truck.
This would start a cycle of replacement, Byron said.
* $195,000 for a new plow truck.
The town has four plows and four drivers, “We don’t have a backup,” Byron said.
It would be paid for by rolling $95,480 originally set aside for a road project into the Public Works’ Capital Reserve account, which already has a balance of $119,500.
Selectmen, the Budget Committee and Public Works favor a new “wheeler,” a large plow capable of carrying 12 yards of sand and salt versus the current six yards, Byron said. It would mean fewer trips to reload, making it more efficient. A wheeler costs between $185,000 and $195,000. A “hopper sander,” like the current models, costs between $145,000 and $155,000.
* $125,000 for paving.
Byron said Buker and Huntington Hill roads are next on the priority list.
“We should be paving at least three, three and half miles every year,” he said.
*$236,340 for administration.
The proposed budget maintains current staffing level and includes a 50-cents-an-hour raise for three full-time office positions.
It has nothing to do with merit, though the women deserve it, Byron said. It’s more about getting them up to average for a town Litchfield’s size.
Throughout the proposed budget, selectmen and the Budget Committee were unified on funding levels and what the two groups felt ought to pass.
Town meeting will be held at 10 a.m. at the Sportsmen’s Club.
kskelton@sunjournal.com
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