Voting on the Town Meeting warrant and election of officers is from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 10, in the Newport Opera House.
Newport
Supporters of the petition say they are concerned with recent Selectboard decisions to reduced the ambulance department’s coverage area and end formal contracts with some neighboring towns.
“We want to alert the public on what the Selectboard has done in the past,” said Heather Hardy, the wife of an on-call EMT. “This brings it to the public eye.”
Hardy presented the petition at the Town Meeting deliberative session early last month, and told residents the town has eliminated coverage to some surrounding towns, including Croydon and Lempster, and no longer responds to Mount Sunapee ski area. Hardy also noted that in the past year, one Selectboard member made a motion to have the town look into privatizing Newport’s service, but no one seconded it.
But town officials say the decisions are not aimed at ending the town ambulance service; rather, they ensure there is full coverage in Newport so taxpayers get the service they are paying for and counting on. The decisions also were financial, as the Selectboard realized that as much as two-thirds of the costs for coverage in some towns, such as Croydon, was paid by Newport. When new contracts were offered, Newport raised its price. Town officials also noted that the ambulance department budget for next year has more money than this year’s.
Hardy said less then one-half of 1 percent of the calls for Newport residents could not be responded to by Newport.
“That is a stellar number,” she said.
Board member Gary Nichols, a former EMT who is not seeking re-election after 22 years on the Selectboard, said the shrinking number of on-call EMTs is another of the board’s concerns.
He told voters at the deliberative session that the surest way to end the shortage is to become an EMT.
Also on the warrant are two major infrastructure projects of $3 million and $509,000, both of which require a 60 percent majority to pass. The $3 million bond is for engineering, land acquistion and construction on 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and Knolls streets, of which $739,000 would be repaid through taxes and the balance from the water and sewer funds, which are supported by user fees.
The second project would replace the steel truss of the Oak Street Bridge in North Newport, which has been on the state’s red list since 2008. The total project cost is more than $2.5 million, but Newport’s share would be limited to 20 percent, of which $125,000 already has been appropriated.
Repayment of the bonds for both projects would not start until 2019.
The proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 represents a decrease of about $15,000 from this year and would also reduce the municipal tax rate because of higher non-tax revenues.
Reductions in welfare assistance, fuel costs and debt helped to offset increases in insurance and personnel expenses, the town said.
The money for the additional fee to register a motor vehicle would go into a newly established capital reserve fund to help pay for road and bridge repairs. Town officials estimate it would raise about $37,500 annually to start.
There are several other articles that put money into either existing capital reserve funds for sewer, police and communications, or newly established ones for recreational facilities and the district court to pay for repairs and maintenance of the town-owned building.
A zoning article would regulate the spreading of septage — pumped from septic tanks — on any property in town. Town officials said the purpose is to guard against water pollution and ensure a proper balance of land uses.
If all articles seeking an appropriation pass, the town tax rate is projected to decrease 21 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $11.34, lowering the annual town taxes on a $150,000 property by $31.50.
Incumbent Jeff Kessler, Jake Clark and John H. Hooper II are the three candidates battling for two three-year seats on the Selectboard.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
