Ossipee emergency management requests $6,700; officials note radio repeater moved to police tower

Dana (identified in the meeting as emergency management lead) told the Select Board the department plans to request $6,700 for the coming fiscal year, a level-funding request intended to cover routine emergency planning and a small stipend for the emergency management coordinator. "The $6,700 that we normally put away," Dana said, "basically, for those that don't know, I'll explain it. Emergency management is kinda like fire warning. So you're required to have 1 by the state director."

Dana said $2,100 of that amount covers the coordinator's pay and the rest is reserved for contingency spending, planning, and minor disaster expenses. The department reported it moved a radio repeater from the town hall to the new police station tower, which is about 100 feet tall, improving townwide radio coverage: "It was kind of a no brainer. Obviously, that falls under emergency management. It was our repeater to begin with. And that basically allows us to talk to, it's the only frequency where we can talk to all the fire departments, the PD, the highway," Dana said.

Board members asked about line-item presentation and encumbrances from the prior year. Town staff confirmed the finance office included encumbered funds from last year in the packet, which affected the apparent totals on the printed budget sheet; the requested new appropriation remains $6,700. The meeting also noted the town had disposed of an emergency shelter trailer and now coordinates sheltering with the American Red Cross: "There is a lot of training and insurance that goes into doing that, and it's way better for the town liability wise to have Red Cross handle that," Dana said.

No formal vote was recorded; the Select Board took the emergency management budget under advisement and asked staff to correct the packet to reflect encumbered funds and the requested appropriation.