Salisbury voters overwhelmingly backed a request from selectmen Tuesday night to increase the town’s 2019 operating budget by $10,000 to pay for unexpected repairs to a backhoe loader used at the transfer station.
Select board Chairman Ken Ross-Raymond brought forward the amendment to increase the proposed budget from $1,268,494 to $1,278,494, while explaining that the backhoe loader failed twice this year and required repairs that cost the town more than $8,000. The town purchased the equipment in 2007 for about $50,000.
“Every year, we work hard to develop a responsible budget that has the least impact on the taxpayers,” Ross-Raymond told the crowd inside Salisbury’s town hall. “This year, I think we’ve trimmed the budget a little too closely.”
The town’s operating budget is up 2.4 percent over last year’s approved budget of about $1.2 million. However, the impact on taxpayers is less than in 2018, down about 1.2 percent, selectmen said.
A proposal to add $3,000 to the budget to allow the town to recycle certain plastics, including water bottles, failed at Tuesday’s annual meeting. Given the limited market for recycled plastics, some voters questioned whether the town should take the step, especially given that Salisbury burns its trash and isn’t sending those water bottles to landfills.
Steve Wheeler, who manages the transfer station, said the market will no longer accept all types of plastics even though they’re labeled as recyclable. As a result, he said, residents would have to be diligent to keep certain plastics out of the mix and staff the transfer station to help educate.
Although the measure failed, selectmen encouraged residents interested in the issue to attend regular recycling committee meetings on Thursday nights.
After a half-hour of discussion on the budget, voters swiftly approved seven other warrant articles asking them to add a total of $13,700 to existing capital reserve funds. Maintenance funds for the upkeep of local cemeteries, as well as town buildings and grounds each received $2,500.
Voters also backed a warrant article to create a recreation revolving fund that will allow the department to receive donations and raise funds for future events. Historically, that money would go into the town’s general fund.
At Tuesday night’s annual meeting, town officials took time to remember longtime residents who had passed away in 2018 and in early 2019. Ross-Raymond also thanked fellow selectman Joseph Schmidl for his service as Schmidl did not seek re-election.