WILTON – Selectmen approved the nearly $378,600 proposed for the 2006-2007 waste treatment plant budget Tuesday. Funding is down by 1.13 percent from last year.

While rates have not gone up since 1988 and everything – from gas, to chemicals, to parts – have gotten much more expensive, Superintendent Russ Mathers told the board he thought an increase was unnecessary.

“It’s getting tight,” he said. “I’m not going to mislead anyone.”

But, he said the town’s more than $100,000 in payments on the loan to build the facility will be finished by the beginning of 2009, bringing some much-needed cash to the department. It’s worth a shot to try to get by without an increase until then, he said.

“My suggestion is, let’s give it a try,” he said. “There’s a lot of folks on fixed incomes in this town.”

Selectmen also voted Tuesday to send out a letter looking for a person or company to help the town assess fire department needs.

State Rep. Tom Saviello, I-Wilton, came before the board in May to suggest doing a study and forming a new firetruck committee, after year-long talks about buying a truck broke down. All agree a new truck was needed, but there was dissension about what kind of truck and whether it should be new or used.

Saviello suggested finding an unbiased consultant willing to do a study of the fire department’s needs, and Tuesday selectmen approved a letter he wrote describing assessment details for prospective consultants.

The assessment should include a statement about each piece of the fleet, a schedule for vehicle replacement, and a recommendation about buying old equipment or now, according to Saviello’s letter.