China budget committee reviews two spending articles
China Village Volunteer Fire Department.(Internet photo)
by Mary Grow
Six of the seven members of China’s budget committee reviewed two spending articles on China’s Nov. 3 local ballot and recommended voters approve both.
The articles are related. Art. 3 asks voters if they want “to purchase a new pumper-tanker fire apparatus, including necessary equipment and accessories.” The new truck would be owned by the town and used by the China Village Volunteer Fire Department.
The total cost is not to exceed $750,000. Voters have already approved a $200,000 payment toward the truck; so Art. 4 asks if, assuming Art. 3 passes, they will authorize borrowing up to $550,000 to finish funding the truck.
Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood calculated that if voters approve the fire truck, and if the town has to borrow the full $550,000 over 10 years to pay for it, the annual payment would be about $65,000, or about three-quarters of a mil (78 cents for each $1,000 of valuation) added to the annual tax rate.
Committee chairman Kevin Maroon, who is also a China Village fire department member, said the need is urgent. The new truck would replace a former milk truck converted for a temporary fire truck that’s now been used for 15 years. The vehicle is reaching the point where reliability is questionable and repairs are expensive.
The new truck, he said, would be a combination pumper and tanker, both an attack truck and a water source.
Committee members discussed several things likely to reduce the impact on local taxes. The town has a reserve fund for all three fire departments; the department might find a less expensive used truck (“We’ve been looking,” Maroon said), or the $750,000 might be too high an estimate; other funding sources, like grants, might contribute.
The department has applied for a federal grant that, if received, should cover the planned borrowing. But, Hapgood said, grant recipients won’t be announced until the end of September, and town officials need the Nov. 3 warrant ready by the beginning of September.
What happens if the grant comes through? committee member Janet Preston asked.
“We all high-five and celebrate,” Maroon replied.
Committee members recommended voters approve each article on a 5-0-1 vote, with Maroon abstaining.
Select board members also recommended approval, at their Aug. 24 meeting. They voted 3-2 to recommend buying the truck, with board chairman Brent Chesley and members Natasha Littlefield and Edwin Bailey in support and Thomas Rumpf and Blane Casey opposed.
On Art. 4, funding the purchase if voters approve it, select board members unanimously recommend approval.
China’s polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 3, in the former portable building behind the town office.
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