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Alton budget panel approves $90,000 add-on to fund an additional firefighter after public hearing
Summary
After a public hearing on a revised 2026 operating budget, the Alton Budget Committee voted to add $90,000 to the proposed budget to fund an additional full-time fire position; the meeting also reviewed line-by-line reductions that cut six vacant positions and incorporated a required revaluation expense into assessing.
The Alton Budget Committee voted April 8 to add $90,000 to a revised 2026 operating budget to fund an additional full-time fire position, following extended presentations by town staff and public comment on staffing and tax impacts.
Town administrator Ryan Heath and finance manager Laura Parker opened the public hearing with a line-by-line review of documents showing the original proposed operating budget of $10,791,640 and a revised proposal of $10,132,064. Heath said the revisions remove funding for six vacant positions (two in public works, two in fire, two in police) and otherwise reduce benefits and wages where feasible to arrive at the lower total. Parker told the committee she had removed health and dental for the four vacant positions and identified roughly $112,000 in retirement-related reductions and other savings tied to vacancies.
The presentation also explained a $116,580 addition in the assessing contract-services line related to the town's statutorily required five-year revaluation (cited in the meeting as…
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