Lee approves fire truck purchase

LEE – Voters approved all eight articles at the special Town Meeting.

The two main issues surrounded the purchase of a new fire truck, which required a two-thirds vote, and whether or not the town should authorize additional funding for insurance.

Voters unanimously approved spending $447,000 from the town’s stabilization fund on the new fire engine. The funding will come from money set aside for the fire truck purchase during the last few fiscal years.

That fund had $551,983 in it before the purchase, meaning the town will still have over $100,000 in the fund towards replacing a pumper truck. The town expects that replacement to happen in 2016.

Funding to cover an increase in cost for the town’s property insurance was also approved. The increase was just over $12,000 and brings the total cost of the insurance to $113,146.

Voters expressed frustration over the late increase in the cost. Members of the select board agreed with that anger.

“We need these numbers earlier,” Selectwoman Patricia D. Carlino said. “Next year we will, I am sure.”

Michael Diaz, of the town’s insurance company, Wheeler and Taylor, attributed the increase “to general inflationary cost, increases in building and content values, claims and loss history.”

The insurance will again be placed out for bid for the 2014 fiscal year.

The town also approved funds for Upper Reservoir Dam insurance and also to cover differences caused by typographical errors in the warrant from the May Town Meeting.

Posted by Kameron Z. Spaulding on October 11, 2012. Filed under Community News,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry