Voters in Dunbarton approved a $2.5 million budget at town meeting Tuesday night and went on to pass every article on the warrant in a meeting that lasted a little more than an hour.
The town’s portion of the tax rate is estimated to be $4.40 per $1,000 of assessed property value, about 20 cents less than last year’s rate.
Aside from the budget, which totaled $2,546,314 and was not amended, the 89 voters in attendance gave the green light to putting $100,000 toward paving and road repairs (32 cents on the tax rate) and $30,000 toward buying a new plow and dump truck for the highway department (10 cents on the tax rate).
Voters also approved depositing $40,000 in a capital reserve fund toward buying a new fire truck (13 cents on the tax rate), which the fire department hopes to purchase in 2021. The new truck would replace a 30-year-old truck.
Nobody questioned the budget after it was presented by select board Chairman Michael Kaminski, but there were two amendments made on an article seeking $171,000 to be spent on a new dump truck.
The first amendment on Article 9 corrected a typo to clarify the money is coming from the Highway Vehicle Capital Reserve fund. The second amendment changed the dollar amount to $166,565 to correlate with the fund balance and a $30,000 deposit into that account that was approved on the preceding warrant article.
Road agent Jeff Crosby expects the town will put out a bid for a new truck later this year. The six-wheel dump truck is expected to be outfitted with a plow and sanding machine. Crosby said the highway department plans to keep its old truck as a backup.
The first order of business carried some lighthearted fun as the town nominated this year’s hog reeves, the people in charge of chasing down loose swine that have broken free. Yes, this is an old-time position that has taken on a more symbolic and traditional spirit than it did in the 18th century.
Let former town moderator Fred Mullen explain:
“It got started in the 1600s, and in 1719 every town had to have at least two hog reeves,” Mullen said. “With all of these hogs running wild, it would be their job to go round them up. Eventually, the town started nominating people from the floor at town meeting. It got to a point where someone said, ‘Hey, the newest married couples in town are up all night anyhow, nominate them!’ So that’s what we do.”
Selectman David Nault nominated his two nephews and their wives last year. Spencer and Justin Nault, with some help from Crosby, cleared the town’s pound of brush to fulfill their duties since no swine got loose.
Two couples were nominated this year: Torin Troy and Anna Williamson (married July 28) and Wayne Shearer and Elizomar Torres (married Dec. 30). Both couples were unanimously elected.
Shearer and Torres were present for the meeting and were sworn in by Town Clerk Linda Landry.
Shearer smiled and said he had a feeling they’d be nominated.
“I guess we better be ready,” he said.
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3321, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)