Allenstown will operate its municipal government and school under default budgets in the coming year. Teachers, however, did get approval for a fouryear contract on voting day.

Town vote

Several Allenstown Fire Department proposals – including calls for a new fire truck and two new firefighters – were shot down at the polls on Tuesday, March 13.

But Fire Chief Everett Chaput said he was grateful voters did support putting $10,000 into his department’s capital reserve fund for new equipment.

“The people have spoken and they voted for what they can afford this year,” he said. “All I can do is bring forward what the needs are for the fire department.”

The department’s two biggest rejected proposals were for a five-year lease/purchase agreement for a $275,000 fire truck, and two new full-time firefighters. The truck request failed 102-419 and the call for new firefighters failed 107-413. Residents also shot down the district’s proposed $4,608,697 operating budget. The 239-289 vote cuts the year’s town expenses by about $105,000.

In a meaningless vote, residents said “no” to a $15 million plan to dramatically upgrade the Suncook Wastewater Treatment Plant, which serves both Allenstown and Pembroke and which has been stalled at maximum capacity for more than a year.

The warrant article, deemed defective because it lacked a recommendation from the town’s governing board, got 350 “no” votes to 164 “yes” votes. Residents did support a change to the structure of elderly exemptions, a $6,000 request for the police equipment fund, and a $5,000 request for the highway department equipment fund.

School vote

Allenstown’s public school teachers will get raises this year, after voters approved a four-year contract proposal 289-260.

The contract will add between $138,000 and $156,000 to the school district’s operating expenses in each of the next four years.

Voters denied the district’s proposed operating budget of $9,085,095, giving the district a default budget that’s lighter by about $90,000.

No new positions or large new initiatives were proposed in the budget.

Voters did approve two $5,000 requests to spend surplus money, if it’s available at the end of the fiscal year.

Surplus of $5,000 would go into a building maintenance trust fund, and another $5,000 would spark a trust fund to build, or buy land for, new school facilities.