CONWAY — Annual Town Meeting voters approved all 36 articles on the warrant on Saturday, including the creation of a new stabilization fund for the Highway Department and amending town bylaws to allow Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals members to continue their terms even after moving out of town.

In just over three hours, the 110 voters in attendance at Conway Grammar School approved the $7.16 million operating budget for fiscal year 2026, as well as bylaw amendments and capital purchases.

Voters raised no questions or concerns on the $7.16 million budget (a 1.55% increase from FY25), but they did raise discussion on other financial articles, such as the purchase of an excavator, a tractor and a used grader for the Highway Department, as well as the creation of a stabilization account for future Highway Department purchases.

“It always seems like there’s a drunken sailor in charge of the spending of the Highway Department,” resident Tim Morgan said.

Residents asked why the equipment is needed, why it seems as if the town spends more per road mile than other nearby communities and for more information about the process for reviewing capital purchase requests.

Selectboard Chair Chris Waldo said Conway is in the middle of the pack in terms of Franklin County towns’ spending per roadway mile. The town has more than 20 miles of gravel roads, which are expensive to maintain. The grader, excavator and tractor are necessary equipment for repairs and maintenance.

He added that the town has a capital purchase plan that outlines when pieces of equipment should be replaced and at what point would be the best time to do so to get a good trade-in value. The town’s current excavator and tractor are due for replacement. Waldo explained the town does not currently have a grader and has to rent one, which makes planning repairs and maintenance work difficult.

Waldo noted residents are welcome to attend meetings of the Finance Committee, Capital Improvements Planning Committee and Selectboard where purchases are debated before being added to the Annual Town Meeting warrant.

Voters also questioned the proposed creation of a stabilization account for the Highway Department, which town officials said will help prepare for replacements of equipment in the future.

“Over the next several years, we’re facing well into the six figures of purchases to replace equipment,” Finance Committee Chair Alan Singer said. “With this, what we have is the ability to buy and, with interest rates how they are, I think it’s very prudent that we start putting money away.”

Resident Nelson Shifflett said saving money is a good idea, but argued that voters are less likely to question a purchase, and whether that purchase is necessary, if there is already money set aside.

“My view is the stabilization funds, it’s a good idea, it’s good planning,” Shifflett said. “But it may lend to creating a situation where people are asking less, fewer questions, because we already have the money put aside.”

Resident Besse Lynch raised concern over the approval required for purchases from the proposed fund, as the Highway Stabilization Fund is considered a special stabilization fund that only requires a simple majority at Town Meeting to approve a purchase, compared to a general stabilization fund that requires a two-thirds majority vote.

Some voters suggested amending the article to require purchases from the Highway Stabilization Fund to be approved with a two-thirds majority. However, Town Counsel Donna MacNicol said state law only requires simple majority approval for special stabilization fund purchases and the town cannot supersede state law.

Ultimately, voters approved creating the stabilization account and transferring $25,000 to it from free cash.

Town Meeting voters also approved several bylaw changes, including amending the town’s zoning bylaws to be consistent with updated state law allowing accessory dwelling units by right, and allowing members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals to continue their work even after they have moved out of Conway.

Article 32, allowing members of the two boards to complete their terms and ask for additional one-year terms even after they move out of town, raised discussion from residents who were concerned with handing over control of the two boards to non-residents, particularly when no other board in town allows out-of-towners to serve.

“I’m wondering why we want one of the most important boards, both boards, planning and zoning, to allow out-of-town members, as any kind of voting members,” resident Gina McNeely commented, describing the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals as “outliers.” “Other boards cannot do this.”

Planning Board Chair George Forcier said state law allows for planning and zoning boards to bring on non-residents as associate members, and described it as being similar to courts being able to bring on spare jurors to listen and only vote when a regular juror is unable to attend.

“You want to have a person in the wings who’s listening to the testimony or information with respect to special permits,” Forcier said, “so that if one of the regular members is removed from the picture for whatever reason, the alternate can slide in and continue the process.”

He added that there is one vacancy on each of the two boards at the moment, so amending the bylaw would prevent additional vacancies that could impact the boards’ ability to function in the event that members move away.

Other articles that were approved included spending $14,052 to upload copies of town files on local servers to the cloud, and eliminating the town caucus and allowing election candidates to earn nomination by gathering signatures from residents rather than votes at the caucus.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.