LIVERMORE — Residents voted Thursday to approve the purchase of a new 10-wheel plow/dump truck for the Highway Department and to borrow money to finance it.

The decision was made after residents questioned the need.

The amount listed for the new truck in the warrant article was not to exceed $185,000, which was the upper limit.

However, administrative assistant Kurt Schaub said the truck is not expected to cost anywhere near that. It also did not factor in the $40,000 to $50,000 that has been estimated for trade-in value or the $25,000 voters agreed to put toward it from the sale of a tax-acquired property in an earlier vote.

About 30 residents attended the annual town meeting held at the Livermore Elementary School.

Schaub said roughly $11,000 was spent this year on repairs and maintenance to the Sterling wheeler truck has plowed for eight seasons. There is more than $10,000 more in repairs expected in the coming year.

Highway foreman Roger Ferland said the engine in the Sterling is not big enough to do the job it is doing.

The truck is going to need a clutch and transmission, which he estimated would cost about $12,000 to replace.

Highway worker Ron Greenwood said the double-frame on the truck is rotting from the inside out.

Resident David Dion, a member of the town’s Road Committee, said the town should get rid of the truck while it can.

Resident Jack Driscoll said that some residents told selectmen prior to the Sterling being bought that it was too light to handle the town’s roads.

Resident Lionel Castonguay said he would like to see a larger engine put in the existing truck. He said he would also like to see some of the existing trucks paid off before a new one is bought.

Selectperson Wayne Timberlake said if a larger engine was put in the Sterling, the transmission would not be able to handle it.

The economy does not look very good, Driscoll said. He suggested the they fix the current truck. He said $150,000 to $160,000 is a lot of money to borrow in these times.

Selectperson Brenda Merrill said that the board, highway crew and others reviewed the matter for several months before making a decision.

“We need to plow the roads,” she said. “You don’t want to be throwing good money after bad.”

After more discussion, the majority of the voters approved the purchase.

Town Clerk Renda Libby said after the meeting that all articles passed. The town budget of $1.96 million was approved.

If the remainder were approved, the proposed spending package would be an increase of $53,467 over the current budget.

However, after including revenues, the net proposal for the next fiscal year is about $1 million, which is $19,225 over the net budget this year.

Residents also requested that a page be put in the town report next year detailing where the road money that is raised is spent.

dperry@sunjournal.com