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Select Board and budget committee split over $86,000 patrol vehicle after donated-car stipulation
Summary
The Buxton Budget Committee initially voted to recommend no funding for a new patrol vehicle, citing an earlier donated cruiser; after heated discussion about a donor'stipulation and fleet mileage the committee changed its recommendation to $86,000 and the Select Board recorded its support.
The Buxton Budget Committee and Select Board debated whether to recommend $86,000 from unassigned surplus to purchase a patrol vehicle for fiscal year 2026'27. The budget committee first recommended $0, citing concerns about an earlier donated cruiser and whether a written stipulation required the town to buy another vehicle that year. Select Board members and the police chief told the bodies the fleet includes several vehicles with high mileage and that routine replacement is part of long'standing practice.
Discussion focused on competing facts: one member said a donated cruiser was presented to the town with an oral condition that the town continue to buy a new cruiser each year; others said that stipulation had been discussed only between the donor and the chief and was not reviewed by all Select Board members. The police chief provided fleet-mileage figures and explained that the department has multiple vehicles with more than 100,000 miles.
After the budget committee'recommended $0 and a brief vote, a member moved to change the committee recommendation to $86,000; another member seconded the motion. The committee then voted to change its recommendation (committee tally recorded as four in favor, three opposed), and the Select Board registered a five'member vote in favor of the $86,000 recommendation. The committee recorded the procedural motion and noted the change would be reflected in the warrant prior to printing.
Why it matters: The dispute illustrates how informal donor conditions, unclear documentation, and differing information available to each body can alter budget recommendations before they reach the town meeting. The town'level purchase will still be decided by voters at the annual meeting; the committee'level amendment changes only the committee'recommended figure that accompanies the warrant.
What happens next: The $86,000 recommendation will appear on the warrant as revised. Town meeting voters will have the final say on the appropriation for the patrol vehicle; select board members said they would supply any available written records about the donation if requested at town meeting.
