ANDOVER – Bolstered by town meeting majority votes that OK’d acceptance of a federal grant to get a firetruck and supplemental money with which to equip it, fire Chief Ken Dixon is working to turn it into reality.

The new pumper will replace the town’s 1977 engine and another aging truck.

“I’m still working with four manufacturers to get an acceptable package together to build something within the budget price,” Dixon said by phone on Wednesday afternoon at the town office.

The price approved at Saturday’s town meeting is the $237,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Fire Act Grant program, coupled with a town match of $12,500.

“This will give us a decent pumper to replace Engine 4. I wrote the grant to replace the most decrepit piece of equipment we had,” Dixon said on Saturday during considerable debate over the issue.

Additionally, because the grant was $90,000 less than what Dixon hoped to get, a majority vote also gave him $100,000 with which to supplement the truck with things like foam systems and ladders and adding four-wheel-drive.

Of that $100,000, $35,000 will come from the town’s firetruck account. The rest, thanks to an approved amendment from resident Sid Pew, will come from the sale of the town’s 1977 engine, and $45,000 to be raised in increments of $15,000 during the next three years starting in 2009.

After more debate, former selectman Trudy Akers asked that voting on the supplemental money be done by secret ballot. Moderator Brad Thibodeau granted the request. Then, after balloting ceased, announced that the tally was 49-46 in favor of the supplemental money.

There was, however, nothing in the supplemental Article 29 that stated how the money – other than that from the firetruck account – would be raised. Rules prohibiting adding new articles from the floor prohibited voters from acting on the matter, however.

Early into the nearly 12-hour town meeting, it quickly became apparent that many voters wanted to rein in town spending. Prior to voting on the warrant, Town Clerk Elaine Morton said the proposed budget was $548,113.

By meeting’s end, that was pared to $464,814.43, according to Selectman Hope Peterson and town treasurer Sandra Conrad by early Wednesday evening.

This 2008 municipal budget doesn’t include the Oxford County and SAD 44 assessments, which are done later in the year.

Among defeated money articles, were requests to raise:

• $10,000 to establish an emergency fire equipment repair account.

• $1,400 to buy four new tires for Engine No. 3 and $10,000 for the firetruck account, both of which were rendered moot by acceptance of the federal grant.

• $1,800 to rebuild the engine of the fire department’s forestry truck.

• $10,000 for road and bridge construction.

• $25,000 toward a townwide revaluation.

• $7,020 for the recreational capital improvement account.

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