Hampden fire chief requests $6,000 warrant article for pagers; forestry truck arriving

The fire department presented its FY27 budget and described a mix of operating and capital pressures. The chief said a sizable portion of salary increases reflects additional call/call‑in pay for personnel, and rising utility costs (natural gas and electricity) are also driving operational increases.

Department leadership asked the board to include a one‑time warrant article of approximately $6,000 for five replacement/additional pagers after describing intermittent reliability problems with the department's notification software and residential phone coverage. The chief said the new pagers would be a one‑time capital purchase and that the recently ordered forestry truck was expected to be delivered this week; the chief did not set a firm ribbon‑cutting date until the vehicle was in service.

Board members asked clarifying questions about salary line items and whether chief's own salary was reflected in the packet; staff confirmed that some salary figures were handled separately in the call list and not shown in the version the board was viewing. The board accepted the department's presentation and acknowledged the chief would submit a formal warrant article for the pagers.