Dalton Fire District Approves Tentative Budget
DALTON, Mass. — The Fire District's Prudential Committee approved an anticipated budget of more than three million during its meeting last week.
The district's projected budget amounts to $3,569,222.44, comprising the budgets for the commissioner, treasurer, Water Department, and Fire and Ambulance services. This is an increase of $44,542.44
The Board of Water Commissioners voted to recommend utilizing $375,000 from the funds raised by the ambulance to offset the amount to appropriate.
The district's Board of Water Commissioners and Prudential Committee collaborated during the budgeting process to mitigate increases.
The Fire Departments and Emergency Medical Services' budgets total is forecast at $1,847,512, a decrease of $26,096.
The department initially requested a budget of $2,052,512. However, the board voted last week to remove Articles 22 through 24, which amounted to $205,000 in spending, until its free cash is certified.
Article 22 requested $80,000 to create an apparatus replacement fund.
"We are trying to do a better job of planning ahead, so that we don't need to go out and take out large amounts of money when we need to replace our apparatus," said Charlotte Crane, fire prevention officer and emergency medical technician.
"So that is a fund that we are hoping to be able to establish so that we can build up cash to have available to replace an [apparatus, whether it is an ambulance or firetruck] if need be."
The district has an older fire engine, so they are working to plan ahead and be proactive, Crane said.
Article 23 requested $50,000 to cover the replacement of the department's garage doors because they are more than 25 years old, out of date and not up to modern safety standards.
Article 24 requested $75,000 to replace the department's apron, which is the pavement directly in front of the fire station's vehicle bays.
"If you go out there, you probably see that it's like walking on surface of the moon, because we have very heavy duty vehicles that go in and out all the time, and they have worn, [and have] some fairly significant depressions into that asphalt, and so we're just looking to replace that to make it more level and easier to plow and take care of," Crane said.
The district would have a special meeting to transfer funds from free cash to cover these requested items once it gets certified.
The district does not want to raise those funds from taxes, Crane explained.
"[The board has] chosen that if they don't have the funds to offset Articles 22 through 24 then we won't go ahead with that. But if we do have that free cash available, and that passes, then we would hope to do that apron replacement in the coming year," Crane said.
The commissioner and treasurer's budget is requesting $295,810, an increase of $40,216.
The driving force behind this increase is $20,000 to cover the cost of support for the new municipal financial consulting software, which will improve the district's financial tracking and reporting capabilities.
"The support is basically an hourly rate, but we're putting that much money in there, not knowing what we're going to need," said James Driscoll, board chair.
The new system is recommended by accountants and set up for municipalities. Using QuickBooks was not meeting the district's needs, Driscoll said.
Also included was $3,000 for Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 45, which allows the district to put funds away for future retirees. This is an increase of $1,500 from fiscal year 2025.
"If you don't fund it now, you're gonna be forced to fund it when they retire. The state gives you the ability to put some money aside so you can keep the impact at a minimal level, as opposed [to increasing the budget when individuals retire,]" Driscoll said.
The Water Department's budget is anticipated to be $1,424,900, a 2 percent increase of $29,423 from fiscal year 2025.
The department budgeted $40,000 to fund the replacement for the stockhouse roof, which is over 22 years old.
Additionally, there is a request for $50,000 for the upgrade of its chlorine analyzers. The new analyzers require less maintenance and are give more accurate readings of chlorine levels.
"[The current analyzers] require a ton of maintenance. Almost three times a week you're messing with them, trying to get a decent reading out of them," said Bob Benlien, water department superintendent.
Voters will also decide whether to approve a citizen's petition to increase the number of board members from three to five.
The decision would reduce the risk of Open Meeting Law violations because it would increase the number of members to have a quorum, a resident in favor of the change said previously.
At the end of the meeting, all three of the board members expressed that they were not opposed to this change. However, they emphasized a desire to see more community participation in attending district meetings.
Tags: fire district, fiscal 2026,
