Heavy Rescue Truck and Level Budget on Town Meeting Agenda
by Chris Davis, for the Officers of Charlotte Fire and Rescue Services,
February 24, 2011, page 9.....

There are several decisions related to Fire and Rescue Services that all of us will be making on March 1, Town Meeting Day. The officers of Charlotte Fire and Rescue worked with the Selectboard to reduce our operating budget to absorb any anticipated increases in 2011-12. We will be asking voters to consider approving under Article 3, which is the Selectboard’s General Fund budget, a level funded operating budget of $480,000, which includes $259,381 for the EMT and administrative assistant salaries and benefits. The total amount requested represents approximately 5.18 cents on the town tax rate, or $129.50 for a $250,000 property and $207.20 for a $400,000 property.
Within Article 3 there is also a request to approve a deposit of $138,945 into the Fire and Rescue Capital Equipment Replacement Fund. This amount represents an additional 1.5 cents on the town tax rate, or $37.50 for a $250,000 property and $60 for a $400,000 property. A minimum deposit of $69,000, or 3/4 of a cent on the tax rate, is necessary to cover present Fire and Rescue-related bond obligations dating back to 1999. Since 2005 all the Fire Department and Rescue Squad vehicle replacements have been paid directly from the capital fund, eliminating the need to finance these high value items.
Under Article 7 voters will be asked to consider approving spending up to $405,000 from the Fire Rescue Capital Fund to purchase a replacement for the 1990 Fire Department heavy rescue truck. If the $138,945 capital budget deposit in Article 3 is approved, there will be funds available to cover the purchase of this fire truck. If the full deposit is not made to the capital fund under Article 3, the funds will not be available to purchase a replacement for this truck under this budget year.
A few facts regarding Article 7: The heavy rescue truck carries the vehicle rescue equipment (jaws of life and assorted accessories), as well as other specialized equipment and lighting to deal with situations ranging from fuel spills to water and ice rescues. This vehicle responds to every incident that the Fire Department responds to. The replacement truck would have up-to-date crew safety features such as antilock brakes, traction control, 3-point seatbelts for the crew who would now all be seated in the cab, a more powerful and cleaner emission engine, an integrated hydraulic pump system to power the jaws of life and other vehicle rescue tools, and more storage space. This more powerful hydraulic system will permit our present rescue tools to cut more effectively through the reinforced steel in many newer vehicles, saving valuable time. Our proposal to the Selectboard is to sell the 1986 pumper as well as the 1990 truck, once its replacement arrives, to reduce the total number of vehicles operated and maintained. Please do not hesitate to contact us at the station, at home, or ask questions at Town Meeting. Thank you for your consideration of these requests, and we welcome your questions.