Alna Fire Chief Mike Trask expects to ask for a new fire truck a year from now. He estimates it'll cost between $250,000 and $300,000, or between $87,000 and $137,000 more than the town will have saved for it by then.

The truck would replace a 1986 model that probably has little resale value, Trask told Alna selectmen February 21.

Taxpayers have already put $138,000 toward the next truck over the last several years; Another $25,000 is proposed to go into the pot at the annual town meeting March 16.

Trask said he would leave it up to selectmen to propose how the town comes up with the remainder of the money needed for the truck.

First Selectman David Abbott suggested a loan, rather than raising it through taxes in a single year.

Town Treasurer Honora Jordan asked if the department could get a used truck instead, like those a New Jersey fire department has donated to Edgecomb.

A used truck might need work and would need to be replaced sooner than a new one, Trask said. It also might not have certain safety and other features a new one would, he said.

“Do I think I could find all that on a truck that's 15 years old? I don't think so,” Trask said.

The chief does not plan to propose any alternatives to a new truck; however Second Selectman Jonathan Villeneuve said he'd like to have the truck's specifications when Trask draws them up later this year. Those could help the board study other options that voters may want to hear at the March 2014 town meeting, he said.

“It's a good idea to have all the options out there for the people that are going to be spending all that money,” Abbott agreed.

The department's other fire truck, a 1995 one, might last another 10  years, Trask said.

Trask also presented his proposed budget for town meeting. It includes several pay hikes, including his position, which would go from $1,500 a year to $3,000; and the assistant fire chief and Emergency Medical Services director, which would each rise from their current $1,000 a year to $2,000.

Trask is also proposing firefighters' call and training pay go from $11 to $12 an hour, and that the three fire captains' stipends each increase from $250 to $500.

Trask offered to justify the hikes to selectmen, but they told him to just be ready to answer any questions voters may have at town meeting.

Residents will vote on the increases separately from the department's other budget requests for utilities, truck maintenance, insurance and other items. The budget comes to $88,529, just $808 more than last year's.

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