Town Administrator Andre Garen opened the department briefing by identifying the presenters and the proposed totals for the Fire & Rescue budget. "My name is Andre Garen, town administrator," he said as he introduced Chief David Nado and Regina Howard and summarized the request: a proposed Fire & Rescue budget of $5,238,414, an increase of $109,469, or about 2.13 percent over the prior year.

The increase reflects personnel and benefits costs, including contract-driven wage changes and health insurance. Garen told the committee the town’s health-care costs have been rising sharply: the most recent increase is 14.5 percent, following double-digit increases in prior years. He said the town will update the budget after a scheduled PrimeX presentation to town council about the insurer’s actuarial analysis.

Chief David Nado described operational pressures behind the request. "We're actually starting to to receive more mutual aid than we're giving out," he said, saying that pattern indicates the department needs higher staffing levels to meet local demand. Nado and staff noted overtime is a continuing budget pressure; the presentation showed an overtime increase of $19,401 in the proposed budget and referenced more than $500,000 spent in overtime in 02/2025 in actuals.

Nado also reported an equipment problem that will affect this fiscal year’s maintenance line. He said the department’s reserve engine (a 2006 model) and a ladder apparatus went out of service and repairs are underway. The chief estimated the ladder repair will likely cost in the range of $20,000 to $30,000; he said the exact figure was not yet available. Separately, a newer engine’s warranty is due to expire in November, meaning future preventive maintenance costs will shift to the operating budget.

The presentation covered other line items: retirement and uniform costs, modest changes to professional services (including periodic updates to the emergency operations plan), and a small increase in fire prevention education supplies that were depleted during the prior default year. Garen and Nado said the town plans to seek grant funding for some mitigation and planning work to reduce the town share of those costs.

Committee members pressed for more detail on staffing and on how health-insurance increases will be allocated across departments. Garen said the town will return with updated budget adjustments after PrimeX and the town council review of health plan actuarials. No formal vote on the Fire & Rescue budget occurred at the session; the department’s request will remain under review in coming budget meetings.

Looking ahead, Nado and administration said that future budgets will likely need to account for higher staffing and vehicle-maintenance costs if the current mutual-aid trend continues and if older apparatus require more repairs. The committee recorded the department’s request and expected to revisit the line items once the health-insurance analysis and final contract outcomes are available.