STRONG — Two of five selectmen Tuesday evening refused to sign the 2017 budget warrant, citing articles that would obligate voters to lease/purchase agreements without an approximate cost and a specific piece of equipment.

Article 31 asks voters to approve a sum of money the town would take from surplus or raise and appropriate for the Special Equipment Fund for the ensuing year.

Selectmen have recommended $35,000 to go into that fund. Article 32, opposed by Selectmen Dick Worthley and Rob Elliott, gives permission to selectmen to enter a lease/purchase agreement for an unspecified piece of equipment at unspecified cost.

Worthley expressed frustration to other selectmen, particularly Mike Pond, that voters weren’t being told exactly how the money would be used.

The article reads: “To see if the town will authorize the selectmen to enter into lease/purchase agreement on a replacement piece of equipment not to exceed $35,000 a year and not for more than five years, to be taken from the Special Equipment Fund.”

Worthley said he wasn’t persuaded that the existing equipment needed to be replaced.

“There’s a lot of people in this town, taxpayers, including myself, who can’t afford a new vehicle to drive every day,” he said. “You have a plan to spend $175,000 but you’re not telling us what it’s for.”

Elliott agreed, saying people needed to know what what they are voting on.

“As a selectmen, I feel it is our duty to be as efficient as possible,” Elliott said.

If voters decline to approve the request, it will because of the article’s vagueness, he suggested.

“Our townspeople are our bank,” he said. “I don’t feel comfortable with five people having all the control to just go buy whatever we feel like, as long as we approve it as a group,” Elliott said.

Pond said his proposal was a place to start, and if Worthley and Elliott didn’t agree with the plan, that decision still would be up to the voters.

“It’s your opinion, Mr. Worthley,” Pond said. “If you want to buy something else, you get to vote on it.”

Pond developed a 10-year plan, with the first lease/purchase replacing the town’s backhoe. The lease/purchase agreement would not exceed $35,000 a year for five years. He also asked for an additional $15,000 for the Special Equipment Fund.

Worthley challenged him, saying Pond listed the replacement at $120,000, rather than $175,000.

“Why is that?” he asked Pond.

Pond said that with all of the aging equipment and no long-term plan to replace any or all of it, his plan will allow for some flexibility. The highway department might need to buy an excavator, he said.

Burrill said the warrant had to go to the printer, whether or not all five selectmen signed it.

“It has to go out to the public,” Burrill said.

In other matters, Aaron Marden, a highway department employee whose resignation was accepted last will, will receive 80 hours of pay for unused comp time.