After years of using rainy-day funding to get the town of Henniker through tough financial times, town officials are hoping to begin replenishing their depleted reserves.

The drafted 2017-18 budget is projected to increase by $290,299, or 5.5 percent over last year’s budget of $4.9 million, according to town documents. Several changes had been made to the budget as of last week, but half of those changes were meant as a way to rebuild the town’s reserves, which town administrator Chris Trovato said became diminished during the years following the 2008 financial crisis.

The town had to pull on those funds for years to make normal operations happen – and other expenses, such as the fire that destroyed the town’s highway garage in 2015, as well as several of their vehicles, meant putting money aside for future projects was not feasible. But with few drastic changes projected in the budget, Trovato said this may be the year to rebuild.

So what has been set aside so far? Trovato said $230,000 was put into the reserves during last week’s meeting, with $100,000 of that amount going toward a fire equipment fund. She said putting aside funds for that type of purchase was critical, noting the town recently purchased a $500,000 fire truck.

“We can’t do that kind of expense all at once,” she said. “And you have to think that fire truck’s cost is going to increase by 4 percent each year, so in 20 years, when that vehicle starts to wear out, we need to be funding not just a replacement, but the vehicle’s estimated increase.”

In addition to the fire equipment funds, Trovato said $60,000 was put toward an ambulance fund, and $25,000 was set aside for highway equipment. About $20,000 was also set aside for future property revaluation, which Trovato said will need to occur within the next five years. And of the $230,000 set aside, around $43,000 was taken out to pay for various items, including $25,000 for new scuba packs for the fire department.

Setting aside money is possible, Trovato said, because the town is seeing less drastic increases in some line items than the year before. Insurance, for example, is increasing by 7.5 percent for a total of $152,874. This year’s budget saw a 21.4 percent increase from 2015’s budget of $110,937, but Trovato said the change was the result of the town switching insurance plans for its employees.

The select board will be meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the town hall.

(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309, candrews@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @ActualCAndrews.)