Voters approved the purchase of a new fire truck at a special town meeting held on Thursday at the Sorrento-Sullivan Rec Center, ellsworthamerican.com reported.
The article was passed in a 31-20 vote after hours of heated debate, the report said.
The new truck, an International pumper and tanker combination, will be paid off over a period of 10 years, and is expected to be in service for at least 20, according to the report.
The new truck will replace Sullivan’s existing tanker truck, which is a 1992 Ford and at more than 30 years old is no longer in active use. The current truck is too old to find parts for, making it difficult to refurbish, the report said.
A big point of contention at the meeting was that up to $650,000 was sought to purchase the truck, as specified in the warrant article, but the truck is expected to cost roughly $100,000 less than that amount, according to the report. Some residents said that they felt this was a way for the Select Board to write a “blank check” for any amount.
Officials said the extra financial wiggle room was added due to the volatility of truck prices, but that no more money than was required to purchase the truck would be used, the report said.