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Plaistow deliberative session advances series of capital reserve and trust fund warrant articles to ballot
Summary
Voters approved placement on the ballot of multiple capital reserve and expendable trust articles — including water, highway equipment, building, library, fire apparatus and police vehicles — most with unanimous select board and budget committee recommendations.
At the Feb. 1 deliberative session, the assembly voted to place a set of capital reserve and expendable trust warrant articles on the March ballot as written. The items are intended to fund scheduled capital improvements and equipment replacement without immediate large bonds.
Key articles placed on the ballot included: - Water department operating budget (Article P‑25‑03) — fully enterprise-funded; no tax impact. - Contingency fund (P‑25‑04) — $85,000 to be set aside for unexpected needs (no amount to be raised by taxation as appropriated from the general fund). - Highway department equipment expendable trust (P‑25‑05) — $100,000 deposit to fund future equipment replacements; approximate existing balance ~$125,809. - Building maintenance expendable trust (P‑25‑06) — $25,000; fund used for unexpected building mechanical repairs. - Library capital reserve (P‑25‑07) — $55,000 for roof and other capital needs; approximate balance ~$170,311. - Transportation infrastructure capital reserve (P‑25‑08) — $50,000. - Reevaluation capital reserve (P‑25‑09) — $25,000 to build toward the 2026 revaluation; approximate balance ~$37,614. - Fire department apparatus and equipment reserves (P‑25‑10, P‑25‑11, P‑25‑12) — deposits totalling various sums to fund apparatus, equipment and radio replacement programs. - Public safety communications reserve (P‑25‑13) and police vehicle reserve (P‑25‑14). - Cemetery maintenance expendable trust (P‑25‑15), Recreation capital reserve (P‑25‑16) and a cell tower maintenance fund movement (P‑25‑18) to capture revenue from cell leases for future tower upkeep.
Select Board members repeatedly explained that the reserve funds are restricted to their stated purposes and typically require a majority Select Board vote to use once established. Several presenters noted the value of leveling tax impacts by saving over time for known replacements rather than borrowing for a single large purchase.
Most of these articles were recommended by both the Select Board and Budget Committee at the meeting and will appear on the ballot as written. Moderators also handled motions to restrict reconsideration where requested.
