Topping the discussion at Weare’s deliberative session of Town Meeting was the Fire Department.

Two articles involving the Fire Department, articles 17 and 18, will appear on the town ballot in March – one requests a full-time fire chief, and the other money for a new fire truck.

At the meeting on Saturday, Jan. 31, residents amended Article 17 to request $43,184 for a “fulltime fire chief with level 2 firefighting certification and EMT-I or paramedic certification.” The tax impact would be 5 cents per $1,000 assessed property value, or $10 on a $200,000 home.

“We feel like we’ve reached the point with the growth in our community that we could use this full-time position,” said selectmen Chairman Tom Clow.

The Fire Department currently employs a part-time fire chief but seeks a chief to fill critical daytime hours when coverage is most needed.

According to interim Fire Chief William Tiffany, this would be a salaried position between the hours of approximately 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. The hours, however, are not set in stone, and details need to be worked out by the Board of Fire Wards. The Board of Fire Wards has also not yet set a complete job description.

Some residents at the deliberative session felt not enough information was presented to request money for a full-time fire chief, and one resident made a motion to zero out the article.

“I want people to vote on this with full information,” said Weare resident Frank Campana. The majority of residents, however, felt this was not necessary, and the amendment was rejected.

Article 18 was amended to request “$460,000 for the purpose of purchasing a fire truck.” Originally, a new fire truck was requested, but residents felt by removing the word new, that would leave the door open to potentially purchase a used truck. None of this money would come from taxpayers, as it would be withdrawn from capital reserve funds.

According to Tiffany, Sugar Hill Station in East Weare currently has a 30-year old truck that needs to be replaced. Trucks would be shuffled around, and the new truck would end up at South Weare Station.

According to Tiffany, the $460,000 figure is price that is guaranteed through one vendor through the end of March. He is currently waiting for more bids from additional vendors.

Some residents, again, felt not enough information was presented to be able to request money for a new truck. At one point, a motion was made amend the article, requesting $250,000 for a used truck, however, residents rejected this as well.

“I will work diligently with the Board of Fire Wards to get these questions answered that were raised today,” said Tiffany.

Other articles amended include:
• The wording in Article 13 was changed to read, “Shall the town approve,” instead of “To see if the town will approve.”

• Article 19 now requests $28,055.17 for town employee, Fire Department and library raises. This is down from $46,542. The Highway Department is no longer included in the figure, as it recently unionized.

• Article 25 now requests a nine-member Finance Committee. According to Town Clerk Evelyn Connor over the past year, the Finance Committee has had a problem filling its 13-member board, and a difficult time coming up with a quorum, seven members, to have a meeting.