By Jamie L. Costa
The Eagle-Tribune
ATKINSON, N.H. 鈥� Town Administrator John Apple on Tuesday night made a proposal to the Budget Committee during a public hearing that would help staff the town鈥檚 ambulance for the month of February.
The proposal came just a day after the Board of Selectmen tabled the department鈥檚 request for $8,400 to cover the cost of one per diem employee working a 12-hour overnight shift.
With the town鈥檚 ambulance service slated to end at midnight on March 1 , fire Chief Erik Thomas made the request for funding to give the department ample time to get things in order before the contract ends.
鈥淚 have a proposal for $8,400 that would be used to fund extra staffing to operate for a month as discussed at last night鈥檚 meeting pertaining to the ambulance service,鈥� Apple said. 鈥淲e would be adding $4,900 to the overall budget.鈥�
The additional funding would come in part from minor cuts Apple made to the budget 鈥� $1,300 from financial administration, $700 from the Board of Selectmen, $500 from the health department and $1,000 reallocated within the fire department budget 鈥� with the bulk put back into the fire department鈥檚 budget by the Budget Committee in the amount of $4,900.
A motion was made to adopt Apple鈥檚 proposal and unanimously approved.
During public comment, many residents stood in support of the fire department and admonished the Budget Committee for not only cutting nearly $25,000 from the department鈥檚 proposed budget but also voting against a warrant article, 4-2, that would allow the department to hire two full-time employees in June.
鈥淧eople were shocked to hear some of what could happen if these articles are voted down,鈥� said Karen Steele. 鈥淚 hope that you will recommend the staffing. Last year, you didn鈥檛... and they voted it down.鈥�
Though the department can make do with the staffing they have, without the additional employees, the department will have to rely heavily on its per diem hires and mutual aid, both of which aren鈥檛 always available, and response times would increase.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e (committee) feeling like they don鈥檛 need to support that staffing measure where I feel it鈥檚 more important than almost anything else; it鈥檚 a matter of safety for the residents of the town,鈥� Thomas said. 鈥淚t is mission critical to have adequate staffing levels. How much does a life cost?鈥�
Residents urged the Budget Committee to reconsider its vote against the warrant article and support public safety. The committee is expected to finalize preliminary votes for both the budget and warrant articles by Tuesday ahead of the Town Meeting in March.
Additionally, new warrant articles were introduced to the public, including the proposed $7.5 million operating budget, which is up 6.8% from last year鈥檚 default budget and does not yet include the addition of monetary warrant articles; the establishment of a Capital Reserve Fund for New Facilities or Major Renovations which would fund new municipal facilities or renovations to existing facilities, both of which are recommended by the Board of Selectmen ; and a citizen鈥檚 petition appropriating $7,015 to support the SoRock Coalition for Healthy Youth , which was not recommended by the Board of Selectmen .
Other monetary warrant articles include but are not limited to road repairs, public safety and municipal vehicles, a state-mandated PFAS investigation, the establishment of capital reserve funds, a culvert replacement and equipment purchases.
The Budget Committee will meet again on Tuesday at 7 p.m. to continue discussions.
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