Alna voters doubled fire officials’ pay March 16. The vote followed an hour-long debate, the longest at this year’s annual town meeting.

The $610,026 town budget, down nearly $4,000 from last year, passed as proposed, except for residents’ decision to keep $25,000 on hand for road work instead of saving it for future paving work. They discussed possibly having a special town meeting later this year, to use the money to pay down the town’s existing loan on a repaving project.

The new fund voters rejected hadn’t involved raising new tax money, so the budget drop held.

With other unknowns such as the school and county budgets, and state funding, town officials are unable to predict this year’s tax rate based on town meeting.

Taxes were a concern among some residents who spoke against fire officials’ 100 percent pay hikes.

The town may be buying a fire truck next year, and recently helped fund an addition to the station, Steve Sheehy said. “So to double salaries seems a bit excessive,” he said.

But fire officials said the positions’ pay should better reflect the many hours involved to comply with government regulations.

Being out of compliance could mean fines as high as five figures, Assistant Fire Chief Roger Whitney said. As he spoke, he walked around and held up a large, white binder of papers regarding compliance.

“It’s a huge burden. And for a small department like us, it’s massive,” Whitney said.

Second Selectman Jonathan Villeneuve suggested the town might eventually reach a tipping point with all the government regulations, and consider partnering with other fire departments on administration.

Voters rejected amendments to pay fire officials the same as last year, or to give them 50 percent raises instead of the 100 percent hikes the department proposed. The closest show of hands was on the halfway compromise, which lost 16 to 24 or 25, by town officials’ slightly varied hand counts.

A final vote to fully fund the requests passed widely. 

The fire chief’s pay will go from $1,500 to $3,000 a year; the assistant chief’s and first responders director’s stipends will each rise from $1,000 to $2,000; and three fire captains, currently each paid $250 a year, will each get $500. 

In other decisions, residents gave the Committee for Alna History $7,000, to repair or replace the Alna Meetinghouse roof.  The current roof has been on the 224-year-old building about 20 years, committee chairman and Town Clerk Amy Warner said.

Voters granted a new funding request from Wiscasset’s parks and recreation department. The $4,254 contribution will lower this year’s individual and family membership rates for Alna residents, a department representative told meeting-goers.

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or sjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com