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Otis Select Board and Finance Committee review fire, rescue and maintenance budgets; set March meeting dates
Summary
At a Feb. 24 meeting, the Town of Otis Select Board and Finance Committee reviewed FY27 requests for the Fire Department, Rescue operations and Maintenance, discussed staffing additions and equipment, and agreed to alternate March meeting dates; no formal votes were recorded.
The Town of Otis Select Board and Finance Committee met Feb. 24, 2026, at 5:06 p.m. at Town Hall to review department budget requests for fiscal year 2027 and to set meeting dates for March. The session ran until 6:20 p.m.
The committee reviewed the Fire Department budget first. Chris Bouchard, a committee presenter, said air packs and a compressor have been procured and are expected soon and noted an eventual transition to 800-band radios. The board raised no concerns about the department's FY27 requests.
Discussion then turned to Rescue operations, which began operating under Town authority on Jan. 1 and therefore lack a local performance history. The minutes record that the town appropriated $350,000 for salaries and $85,000 for supplies in FY26; Rescue requested $553,773 for salaries and $104,700 for supplies for FY27. Rescue also requested adding a full-time EMT, which would increase staffing to five, and said it plans to convert a small office into a bunk room but must identify a heat source so the door can be closed.
Eric Kreis reviewed the Maintenance budget and asked that fire extinguishers mounted on the fire truck be moved under the Fire Department’s responsibility while Maintenance retain responsibility for building extinguishers. Kreis requested an additional full-time maintenance employee and said that, if that is not possible, he would at minimum like a seasonal summer groundskeeper position; the board was agreeable to the summer-groundskeeper option. Kreis also said he built a 5% increase for hauling into the proposed budget, noting the town’s hauling contract expires this fall and vendor rates are expected to change. He reviewed capital requests and answered questions from the board.
Committee member Brandi Page said she will double-check the hourly limit for seasonal staff. The minutes also note that staff are exploring uniform vendors for Rescue and working through logistics for the proposed bunk room conversion.
On scheduling, the board agreed to hold alternate meetings on Friday, March 6, and Friday, March 27, both starting at 9:00 a.m.; March 20 was left open. The meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m.
Next steps recorded in the minutes include Brandi Page verifying seasonal-hour limits and staff follow-up on hauling-contract timing and Rescue uniform vendors; the minutes do not record any formal votes on the budget items discussed.
