LIVERMORE FALLS – Selectmen chose to lock in a heating fuel price that saves the town money and pay 12 cents above market wholesale for diesel fuel, Town Manager Martin Puckett said Tuesday.

Five bids were submitted for fuel and selectmen opted to go with C.N. Brown for both heating fuel and diesel at Monday night’s meeting, Puckett said.

The town uses about 17,000 gallons of heating fuel and about 9,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually.

C.N. Brown’s bid for heating oil was a guaranteed $2.029 per gallon, Puckett said. That is less than the $2.29 per gallon he factored into the budget for fuel, he said.

The town’s request for proposals asked bidders to give a guaranteed price and a cost per gallon over wholesale.

“I’m really excited it came out this way,” Puckett said.

When other towns were locking in prices, Puckett said, he held off because he thought they were too high and were more than he had budgeted.

“It’s a gamble either way,” he said.

The oil company also bid 12 cents markup above wholesale for diesel, the town manager said.

For instance, if the town had bought diesel on Nov. 13, C.N. Brown’s price would have been $1.79 per gallon including the 12 cents over wholesale, he said.

Selectmen also decided to take $6,500 from the repairs, maintenance and other lines within the $184,000 or so solid waste budget and move that money into wages so that hours won’t be reduced at the transfer station, Puckett said.

The budget was cut during town meeting and the amount didn’t leave enough to keep the station open year-round.

The board also agreed to shut the transfer station in the winter months during snowstorms.

A special town meeting will be held in the future for voters to decide where money would come from to cover solid waste tipping fees, if there is a shortage of funds in that budget line.

The board also agreed to go with larger roll-off containers for people to put their trash in to save money, he said. Instead of a 30-yard container, the town will use 40-yard containers.

The containers are a little higher, he said, and some people may need assistance from the transfer station attendant to lift their bags.