Dates:
Wednesday @ 7:00 PM @ the High School – Session #2 of this years town meeting will commence.
Thursday @ 5:30 PM Selectman’s Meeting will be held. Although I do not yet have the agenda I suspect the Police Dispatch problem will be a topic of discussion.
Town Meeting #2 remaining Warrant articles:
#7 – To raise in new taxes $350,000 for additional paving (standard repairs are included in the operating budget). If passed this will constitute about $90 in taxes on a $300,000 home.
#8 – To raise in new taxes $249,000 to be added to the capital improvement fund for Public Works. DPW has about $700,00 in the fund. The total fund has in excess of $3million in it. If passed this will constitute about $65 in taxes on a $300,000 home.
#9 – Raise and appropriate $170,000 to purchase an ambulance. Concord has 3 ambulances and receives approximately 10,000 calls per year. Bow has 1 ambulance (NEW in 2005) and receives about 1,000 calls per year. Historically Bow has used mutual aid when a second ambulance is needed.
If passed this would be the second new ambulance within four years.
#10 Spends $143,000 for a new DPW dump truck. NOTE: #8 ADDED $249,000 to this fund and now #10 spends $143,000 and a later article #18 spends another $35,000 of the $249,000. If the proposed warrants pass the net amount added to the capital reserve fund will only be $71,000. Not recommended by the budget committee 3-5
#11 – Raises another $66,000 to capital improvement fund for the “police equipment” capital reserve fund.
#12 – Establish a new category within the Capital Reserve Fund for bridge repair. New taxes totaling $60,000. A bridge capital reserve fund is necessary to receive state matching funds.
#13 – to raise and appropriate $49,000 for our annual town property reevaluation. This action moves money from one fund to another. The point of annual property evaluations is two fold. 1. Reflects the current housing market 2. Cost less then doing an evaluations every 5 years.
#14 – Raises another $48,500 to the capital reserve funds this time for Municipal Grounds and Building fund.
#15 – Raises another $42,000 to the capital reserve funds this time for Fire Department Equipment Capital reserve fund.
#16 – Raises another $42,000 to the capital reserve funds this time for Fire Department Truck fund which includes “pumper truck, ladder trucks, tanker trucks, forestry trucks, rescue trucks, and ambulances”. It is worth noting that the language includes “ladder trucks”. We currently do not have even one ladder truck let alone ladder trucks. Several of the other categories of trucks have mention of multiples when we currently only have one. This appears to be a sweeping change on what we will be saving money for future purchases.
#17 – Spend $40,000 from existing funds to purchase a new air compressor to fill the new self contained breathing tanks.
#18 – Spend $35,000 of the capital reserve fund for a new pickup truck for the DPW. This relates to articles #8 and #10.
#19 – Spend $27,000 of existing saving to upgrade the library computer system.
#20 – Spend $12,500 of existing saving to survey Alexander Cemetery.
#21 – Raises another $12,000 to the capital improvement fund this time for Parks & Recreatoin.
#22 – Raises $5,000 to fix the Community Building rest rooms.
#23 – Move $11,000 from an account originally set up to buy a vault protect the town’s historical documents to the general fund. The purchase of fireproof cabinets (not a vault) is covered in the operating budget.
#24 – This article is a new ordinance dealing with septic system design and replacement.
# 25 – CHANGE TOWN MEETING BACK TO THE MIDDLE OF WINTER
MY OPINION: I believe moving the date back to March will reduce voter participation. A couple of weeks ago the town experienced the third highest turnout in the last 30 years. This is proof that there is nothing wrong with the current May elections. Move town voting back to the dead of winter will actually suppress voter to turn out.
#26 – This is a vote to require elected officials to show the public the vote count (4 in favor 3 against) on the official town report and any other similar materials. A majority of the Budget Committee voted to NOT show the budget committee votes on School warrant articles. Voting yes on this issue will insure the general public knows how many members support or opposed a warrant article.
Tom Keane
8 Heidi Lane
715-1875