Since this is going to push us above the 2percent cap the town is allowed to vote . Let's vote this down as this will push our taxes thru the roof and the economy is not in good shape

It will just cost more to do later. At least they are capital improvements.

Why do we need 2 firehouses?

we need two firehouses so the response time to a call is short if we were to make one big complex it would have to be put in the middle of town and thats even pushing it because that is still a fare ride to the very north and very south end of town an extra minute or two can mean the difference between life and death the area were both houses are now are fine

Ok hopefully we can get some grants

I was one of two people from the public who attended the special budget meeting Monday night. I have attended most of the M&C meetings for a little over a year now. I will not comment on the necessity or not of the new fire houses or a police headquarters. The professionals seem to think they are necessary and I personally don’t have enough information to dispute that.
The Mayor and Council began with charts that listed all the expenses that the town is required to spend; insurances, payrolls, necessary supplies and materials for the town to maintain itself and conduct business. Their sleeves were rolled up and pencils were scratching out figures and adding new ones as they discussed and made changes to the preliminary budget. They questioned the need for certain items and deleted some of them from their plans. They discussed how and when to replace the aging fleet of town vehicles. They discussed the possibilities of acquiring grants for the “special projects” mentioned in this article.

They really were struggling to make sure that every penny was to be spent wisely. Their heads were down; their eyes were focused on their charts, page after page they went through their charts calculating the needs of the community. At some point it dawned on me that I was witnessing something extraordinary. During this entire meeting there was no bickering, political posturing or shenanigans, no angry exchanges or verbal assaults. They were no longer Democrats or Republicans positioning themselves to outdo each other. They were just a group of folks who the town’s people elected to do a thankless job. They were trying to do the best they could.

Why don't we get Hekemian to build a large firehouse at the water company property, build it to specs needed, and put both company's into this new building? North and south houses? Quicker response? How about one chief, one deputy, central location, fewer fire vehicles? The town is only 2. Miles long. Central location makes sense to me

@Pat. Thank you. Thank you for answering my questions. And yes, I will check out the online reading--I'm sure not going to shell out $82 to read it. Now couldn't our council/fire department just spec out a truck that fits the garage instead of building a garage to fit the truck?

@John. I don't doubt that our M&C worked fiercely to spend as little money as possible. After all, they are tax paying citizens too. But you do have to question some of the items and choices more closely. If they need new police cars, so be it. They are beat on enough. But they can still utilize those vehicles. Why not create a "municipal motorpool" and recycle those tired police cars into it? If a boro employee (such as building inspector, fire marshall, etc) needs a vehicle for boro business, then they can sign a vehicle out of the motorpool. There is absolutely no reason for any vehicle used for town business to go home with these employees.

I don't suppose they cut the health care benefits for themselves?

And as most of us know with our own household budgets when you've cut to the bare bones but still have no way of increasing your income, you still have to cut some more.