Voters in Rindge came out to support their police department on Saturday, but the same couldn’t be said for their fire department.
Voters passed the $3.9 million proposed budget and COPS grant, officially granting appropriate funding to the police department’s eighth police officer. Warrant articles for a $425,000 fire truck and $35,000 fire prevention vehicle were not passed.
“As the president of Rindge Crime Watch, I want to make sure everyone has the tools needed to do their jobs,” said Holly Koski, who was in favor of all articles surrounding the police and fire departments. Koski was one of a few people standing outside Rindge Memorial School holding signs on Saturday afternoon.
Two warrant articles on the ballot requested $425,000 for a new fire truck, with one having an escape clause and the other not. The article without the escape clause required a 3/5 (60-percent) vote, but only received 55-percent of the vote.
By a vote of 628 to 391, residents passed that town’s $3,891,023 proposed operating budget. The proposed budget was almost $100,000 higher than the town’s default budget, which didn’t include funding for the eighth officer position.
Incumbent Selectman Robert Hamilton defeated Tim Halliday by a vote of 570 to 437. Both candidates were on scene Saturday, giving voters a last minute opportunity to ask questions to the two candidates.
“I’m voting for careful planning, a smart budget, and lower taxes,” said Cheryl McCabe Charron, who voted for Hamilton for Select Board.
Charron said she also voted for Sharon Rasku and Alfred L’Eplattenier for Budget Advisory Committee, Gillian L’Eplattenier for Library Trustee, and Douglas Hoyt for Cemetery Trustees, who all won their respective contested races.
The only other article to fail on this year’s ballot would have allowed the Conservation Commission to expend funds for contributions to “qualified organizations” such as the Monadnock Conservancy. Said funds would have been used to help the agencies in question to purchase property.
Members of the Conservation Commission were on hand to answer questions and to hold signs in support of the article.
Committee member Richard Mellor said Saturday that there was a bit of misinformation swirling about in town, and said the article would not authorize private land purchase, avoid Select Board approval, or have an impact on taxes.
The town’s department of public works will have two new pieces of equipment after voters approved a $75,000 used flail boom mower and $165,000 for a six-wheel dump/plow truck. All but $40,000 of the cost of the two pieces of machinery will not have a tax impact, as those funds will be pulled from the unassigned fund balance.
Four zoning amendments were passed: two making changes to the town’ accessory dwelling unit ordinance, one amending the zoning map to put two properties into a single zoning district, and one repealing the town’s impact fee ordinance.
Residents also agreed to discontinuing a portion of Old Ashburnham Road, having the Select Board recommend using the Electric Light Trust Fund to offset the tax impact of capital expenses, $5,000 for the Rindge 250 Expendable Trust Fund for the town’s 250th anniversary, $80,000 for generators at the Recreation Department and Town Office (to be offset by FEMA grants), $18,000 to be added to the Wellington Road Bridge Replacement Capital Reserve Account, and $28,000 to be added to the Revaluation Capital Reserve Account.
Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com. He is also on Twitter @nhandyMLT.