Alton CIP committee presents 2026–31 plan, omits $300,000 annual firehouse reserve

The Capital Improvement Program committee presented its advisory 2026–2031 plan to the Alton Town Planning Board on the evening of the meeting, recommending a multi-year program that prioritizes road repair and routine equipment purchases while omitting a proposed annual $300,000 reserve the committee said would be better handled as a bond issue.

The committee’s report matters because it frames projected capital needs and tax-rate impacts for the planning board, the select board and the budget committee; the document is advisory but the committee urged governing boards to “give credence to this report” when setting future budgets, said Frank Rich, chairman of the CIP committee.

Rich, identifying the committee’s role, said the CIP is “an advisory committee only. We really have no say. We just advise.” He told the planning board the committee met five times, worked with department heads and factored inflation and alternative financing (grants, leasing, used equipment) into its estimates.

The committee highlighted that about $1,500,000 is dedicated to road repairs and maintenance in the plan — roughly 79–80% of the…