GREENE – A plan to refurbish firetrucks to save the town thousands of dollars was presented to selectmen Monday night.

The proposal from Fire Chief Bruce Tufts would eliminate the purchase of new trucks every three years. Tufts said the cost of refurbishing a truck is about one-fourth the cost of buying a new vehicle.

The selectmen awarded a contract to Emergency Vehicles of Maine of Auburn last month to build a new firetruck for about $257,000. The town was setting $100,000 aside every year toward the purchase of firetrucks. This year, $50,000 was put in the Fire Department’s capital improvement fund.

Tufts proposed buying a 1978 firetruck from another department so that one of Greene’s existing trucks could be taken out of service to be refurbished.

The board took no action on the request. Selectmen will decide in September whether to hold a special town meeting for the expenditure of an undisclosed amount.

“We re-evaluated and found ways to retrofit the trucks. We can get by with what we have,” Tufts said. “The Capital Improvement Committee had planned on a new truck every three years. We don’t need that.”

“I like the way the Fire Department is looking at ways to save money and still provide adequate fire protection for the community,” Chairman Ronald Grant said.

In other business, selectmen discussed a likely addition of $8,500 to the budget for the construction of the fire station. A state electrical inspector said a 400-amp electrical service is necessary. The current plan calls for a 200-amp service.

“Any new project if you’ve got that much electricity going in, there’s always a hitch,” said Selectman Kevin Mower.

“That’s an engineering issue that should have been solved before now,” Selectman Timothy Doyle said.

Town Manager Stephen Eldridge said it was believed that the 200-amp service would be sufficient before construction began in the spring.

The board may have to schedule a special selectmen’s meeting to address the issue.

He told the board that construction is ahead of schedule and the fire station may be nearly complete at the end of this month. The contract called for completion by Oct. 15.