SUNDERLAND — A new fire truck and increased real estate and property taxes are on the way for Sunderland residents.
Saturday’s town election saw both ballot questions get “yes” votes; none of the races for various positions in the town government were contested and all listed candidates won their respective seats.
On April 27, during the annual Town Meeting, voters approved spending $500,000 on a new “all-wheel drive pumper tanker fire truck.”
Going forward with the purchase required an affirming vote at the town election on a Proposition 2½ debt exclusion vote.
The item passed with 324 “yes” votes against 250 “no” votes.
Sunderland Fire Chief Steven Benjamin has been a proponent for the purchase, which will replace the department’s second fire truck, purchased in 1988 with no upgrades since.
According to Benjamin, it took three years of planning to get a bid he felt comfortable with. The truck — costing $536,868 — will be able to get to rural areas of town more easily, he said.
Now that the vote has passed, the town will need to move forward on structuring the debt plan for the fire truck.
In addition to the fire truck, residents voted to allow the town to assess an additional $200,000 in real estate and personal property taxes, beginning July 1.
The plan is to fund the operating budgets of the town and public schools.
The town’s budget this year is approximately $8 million, and Sunderland is in the bottom third in Franklin County in terms of lowest taxes.
As a result of the votes, the tax rate will increase from $15 to $15.57 — around a $159 increase in the annual amount of taxes for the average homeowner, according to the Selectboard’s office.
Increasing costs at the schools have been cited as the reasons for the increase in the budget — an increase of $115,000 to run the elementary school, $70,000 to run the Franklin County Technical School and $58,000 to run Frontier Regional School.
None of this year’s seats were contested.
Michael A. Wissemann of 171 Old Amherst Road was elected to a one-year term as moderator.
Scott A. Bergeron of 7 Old Amherst Road was re-elected to a three-year term on the Selectboard. Bergeron was also re-elected as a Riverside Cemetery trustee for three years.
Kenneth L. Kushi of 361 Montague Road was re-elected to a three-year term on the Board of Health.
Michael R. Skibiski of 147 North Main St. was re-elected to a three-year term as an assessor.
Peter Gagarin of 300 North Main St. was elected, and Maisie J. Shaw of 88 Reservation Road was re-elected to the Sunderland Elementary School Committee, each for three years.
Sara Snyder of 114 North Silver Lane was re-elected to the Planning Board for five years.
Hollis Graves of 28 South Main St., John Henry Sackrey of 83 South Main St. and Lorin Starr of 71 South Main St. were all re-elected as Sunderland Public Library trustees for three years.