Board: Sabattus selectmen

Met: Tuesday night

New chiefs

Issue: It’s that time again: The Sabattus Volunteer Fire Department Association needed to pick a new fire chief.

The scoop: They elected, and selectmen signed the appointment papers for Donald Therrien as fire chief and Chris Morin and Marcel Deforge Jr. as assistant fire chiefs. Each of the terms last two years. Therrien is returning as chief after a two-year break. Deforge has been an assistant chief.

Budget crunch

Issue: Town Manager Gregory Gill said Sabattus is projected to see $32,000 less from the state through the Maine Revenue Sharing program this year. That’s money that had been due through June.

The scoop: Budget woes could get worse. There’s the potential that the town could see an overall drop of 10 percent in revenue sharing next year and, if a November referendum on excise taxes passes, $140,000 less next spring as a result of that.

Up next: Selectmen talked about asking residents to pay their property taxes in smaller increments, once a month, to keep money flowing into the town office.

No new truck

Issue: To extend the life of an existing plow truck, selectmen looked into buying a new truck with a backup alarm and plow for $34,658 to share the work.

The scoop: Some members of the board were hesitant about spending money with revenues down. By a vote of 3-2, no new truck for now.

Staff writer Kathryn Skelton can be reached at 689-2844, or [email protected]