It took two meetings and about eight hours, but Bow residents decided on the items on this year’s town warrant.

On Wednesday, May 27, voters resumed discussion on the items left after the original meeting two weeks prior, amending only two articles.

During the first half of Town Meeting, residents only got through three of the articles, passing each.

After the two-week recess, all of the remaining issues were approved, but on Article 8 voters trimmed $100,000 from the proposed $249,000 to be set aside for road paving.

The only other item residents changed the amount on was in Article 22, where the figure was changed from $5,000 to $38,000 for improvements at the Community Building. Originally, the money was designated to improve the restrooms and the floor, but the entire floor needs to be replaced, so the number was increased.

One other notable item approved by voters was Article 25. Residents will no longer come together in May for Town Meeting, as it will be switched to March.

“We’ve been searching since earlier this decade for a way to turn more people out,” said Board of Selectmen Chairman Leon Kenison. “There were those who would say that if we adopt SB-2 that’ll do it. Some of us don’t agree with that. We want to get more people out where there can be explanation and debate.”

The meeting lasted just over four hours following a four-hour meeting on May 13. Among the other articles approved were equipment purchases for an ambulance and a dump truck, deposits into multiple capital reserve funds and a new policy requiring final votes taken by the budget committee and selectmen be recorded and placed next to the affected portion of the town report.

This year was the first meeting in multiple years where residents did not trim money off the budget.

“This year’s budget and warrant articles were reduced, so it should show a tax reduction,” said Kenison. “We knew from the onset of drafting the budget that residents wanted a level-funded budget, so we gave them that.”