Hooksett voters surprised town officials – and in some cases themselves – with how they decided to spend their money, leaving officials to wonder how to fill town gas tanks and cover other expenses.

About 12 percent of registered voters showed up at the Cawley Middle School on Tuesday, May 13, and rejected 508- 468 the town’s proposed 2008-09 $15.7 million operating budget, which had a 2 percent increase over what the town spent last year. The default budget will be $15.3 million.

The town also said no to a $1.5 million bond to fund the second phase of the town’s sewer plant expansion. While 504 voters cast ballots for the funding and 500 voted against it, it needed a three-fifths majority to pass.

Two Town Council members lost their seats to their challengers. “It was strange the way the vote came in, and we were amazed,” said Councilor-At- Large incumbent Stuart Werksman, who was defeated by Nancy VanScoy at the polls after a three-year term in the seat. Michael Pischetola will take over for Jason Hyde in the District 2 Council seat.

Werksman added fuel costs are going to pose major problems for the town’s budget. “It’s going to be a tough year, there’s no doubt about it,” he said.

The default budget would add about 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to the tax rate compared to the proposed budget’s 40 cents per $1,000, said Town Administrator David Jodoin.

Almost all the warrant articles passed, plus the default will add an estimated 61 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, about a $152 increase on the tax bill of a home assessed at $250,000.

If the proposed budget had passed along with the warrant articles that were voted in, the tax rate increase from last year would have increased by an estimated 76 cents per $1,000, which would result in an estimated $190 increase on the tax bill for the same home.

The Highway Department was approved to hire two new workers in 2008-09, after running for more than a decade with the same number of workers, according to highway manager Dale Hemeon.

The Fire Department got two more firefighters, bringing their staffing levels more in line with state standards. That passed by just three votes, 492-489. Voters also approved raises for non-unionized town employees, something Jodoin didn’t’ expect to pass during the tough economic times.

Voters did not add a part-time building and zoning inspector to the Town Hall, nor did they vote to spend money on updating the town’s Master Plan or vote to establish and deposit $33,000 into a road impact fee study.

A 13-vote margin separated the request to put $10,000 in to the parks and recreation capital reserve fund, which was voted down 481-494.

Jodoin said the voting results were a little surprising, but added the ballot was rather long and said the Town Council may consider ways to cut down on the amount of warrant articles on the ballot for future votes.

He said one of the biggest issues the vote raises is how the town will handle rising costs for necessisities such as fuel, salt and paving materials on a default budget. The town also has to make good on its contractual obligations and fund increased costs for areas of the budget out of the town’s control, including health insurance.

“We were kind of strapped as it is,” Jodoin said. “I think everyone’s going to have to be a lot more fuel conscious.”

The fuel funds in the default budget for 2008-09 break out to about $2.65 a gallon, Jodoin said, because they are based on costs from last year. The town is currently paying just over $3 per gallon for fuel. If prices makes it to $5 during the winter, as some experts have predicted, it’s going to put the town in a bind, Jodoin said.

The police, fire and highway departments use the most fuel. Officers are on patrol at all times and highway workers drive to work zones and use a lot of gas plowing over the winter. The large fire trucks are also gas guzzlers, Jodoin said.

And while Hemeon said he’s thrilled voters approved his new employees and two new trucks, he’s not so happy about the fuel line shortage he’s about to enter into.

Hemeon said his default budget fuel line breaks down to about $2.50 per gallon, and he recently found the department would have to dish out $3.49 per gallon for diesel fuel.

“I’ll be $135,000 in the hole if we use the same amount of fuel we did this year,” Hemeon said, of the 2008-09 budget year, and added he would likely forego on paving and other road projects this year to save money.

Even with the passage of a proposed budget, the Highway Department would have still run over its fuel budget, having come into budget talks under budget to begin with.

“Our job is to come in and say what we need. We try to be realistic,” Hemeon said.

After the salt shortage in many towns across the state this winter, the price of salt has climbed to about $43 per ton, a number that could climb to around $60 this year, Hemeon said.

“It’s going to be tough because we had a really tough winter,” Jodoin said, adding if there is any fund balance left at the end of this fiscal year, it could be devoted to stocking up on salt to avoid a buyer’s rush and potential price increase in the coming months.

Jodoin added that moving the town offices to their new location at the Village School will provide an opportunity to further refine and streamline the town’s practices.

If the situation gets bad enough, staffing changes would not be out of the picture as a last resort, Jodoin said, citing towns such as Allenstown and Concord, which had to cut hours and benefits for town employees to save money.