WEATHERSFIELD — Residents on Tuesday easily approved two articles on a Special Town Meeting warning to fund fire services for the new fiscal year beginning July 1 and put $17,000 in a reserve fund for fire equipment and gear.
Both articles were approved by identical margins, 167-85.
“We have fire services,” Selectboard member John Arrison said after the result was announced to appropriate $171,048 for the fire departments.
Tuesday’s vote was needed after an article at the March Town Meeting to appropriate $265,000 for a single, municipal department with a full-time chief lost, 397-316. When that article was proposed, the town did not include money in the budget to fund the current fire services structure of two, volunteer departments in Ascutney and West Weathersfield.
Earlier Tuesday, Town Manager Ed Morris said the money being requested is to maintain fire services they way they are currently structured while the Selectboard continues discussions on fire services.
“We first have to get a budget passed to keep the fire services,” Morris said.
West Weathersfield firefighters supported the municipal department but many Ascutney firefighters did not.
Turnout for Tuesday’s vote was about 11 percent of registered voters.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
