Voters approve new firetruck purchase

NORTH EAST — Fire district residents voted in favor of allowing the North East Fire District’s Board of Commissioners to bond up to $327,000 for the purchase of a new compressed air foam truck for the Millerton Fire Department.

Unofficially, the mandatory public referendum was 69-10 in favor of allowing the board to bond the money for the new vehicle, Commission Chairman George Lind reported. While that might seem like a small number, Lind said the fire department’s president, Lennie Morrison, commented on the fact that it was the largest turnout ever for a public vote on a piece of apparatus for the department.

“The whole Board of Fire Commissioners wishes to thank the public who turned out to vote in favor of purchasing the vehicle,� Lind said, also thanking the truck committees of the fire department and fire district for their dedication and hard work toward selecting the right vehicle and vehicle specifications for the department.

The compressed air foam truck will complement a 2,000-gallon, $191,000  water tanker that was purchased using the district’s reserves and will come at no additional cost to taxpayers. That tanker should be delivered to the department by Memorial Day.

The foam truck, which was ordered shortly after the referendum, will take about a year to assemble and deliver to the fire department, Lind said. Payments on the truck will not begin until 2011, and Lind said that paying off the vehicle will not have a significant effect on the taxpayers.

Advance budgeting for the equipment purchases, paying off the balance remaining on the purchase of an ambulance and smart fiscal spending, including a state energy department audit recommending energy-saving installations that the district has made to the firehouse, have paid off in the long run for the department. Its 2010 budget was passed in October with a 4.7-percent increase, which represented $1.42 more per $100,000 of assessed value than 2009.

“If you think ahead, you’ll be fine,� Lind said. “I think it all works out to the benefit of the taxpayer.�