LIVERMORE FALLS – Voters approved a $2.7 million municipal budget for 2009-10 on Tuesday. The votes still need to be counted a second time for confirmation late in the evening.

The spending plan represents a $354,018 increase over the current budget.

Voters elected Louise Chabot to a three-year selectman term with 189 votes. They also elected Alphonso Barker to a two-year term with 174 votes and James Collins with 24 write-in votes to a one-year term.

Newcomer Katie Castonguay was elected to the SAD 36 school board with 142 votes and Mac Haynes was re-elected to the board with 118 votes. Both will serve three-year terms. Incumbent school board director Fred Nadeau received 92 votes and lost his bid for re-election.

Jennifer Pooler won the one-year term on the SAD 36 Board of Directors by a 116-84 vote over Veronica “Roni” Pillsbury.

The closest vote came on Article 39, with 104 voters authorizing the town to exceed a state tax cap limit to 93 voters saying no.

Most of the budget increase comes from a proposal to buy two new trucks for the Highway Department at $260,000 to replace three aging trucks, and to spend $120,000 for paving projects and $50,000 for capital improvements.

To pay for them, selectmen plan to raise $100,000 through taxation, use $50,000 the department put away last year for a new truck and carry over a balance of about $40,000 in the department’s budget.

dperry@sunjournal.com

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