MANCHESTER — Proposals to pool money from multiple existing town accounts to buy a new firetruck, without going into debt to do so, go to voters Thursday night at the Manchester Town Meeting.

Residents also will be asked if they approve of a new yard sale ordinance restricting them to no more than three days in duration and to no more than six yard sales per year. In addition, they will consider ordinances regulating the location of solar energy systems. And they will vote on the proposed town budget, which at $1.8 million, is the same amount as the current year’s budget.

One of the biggest issues to be decided by voters is whether to spend about $360,000 to buy a new firetruck, which officials propose to do by tapping multiple reserve accounts so the truck can be purchased without borrowing money and paying interest.

Robert Gasper, chairman of the selectmen, said the town’s tanker firetruck recently failed, and tanker trucks cost about $100,000 more than the town had budgeted in anticipation of replacing a less-costly fire engine. He said the town generally plans to replace one of its two fire engines every 15 years, when each reach about 30 years old. But with the need to purchase a truck more expensive than an engine truck, the town had to scramble to come up with the funds.

Officials propose to buy a combination pumper engine and tanker truck.

“We usually raise money, over 15 years, so we can buy a truck with cash,” Gasper said. “But this kind of vehicle runs about $100,000 more than we budgeted. We had to do some innovative juggling of money.”

Thus, voters at Town Meeting will see proposals to help pay for the firetruck that include moving $20,000 from the sand and salt shed reserve account, $517 from the Hammonds Grove fire hydrant reserve account, $2,137 from the green space improvements reserve account, proceeds from the sale of the old firetruck, and $30,000 from an account built up from the sale of wood from town land, in addition to allowing selectmen to buy the firetruck from E-One with the pooled funds on top of money already in the firetruck reserve account.

The annual meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Manchester Elementary School.

Voters also will be asked if they approve of a yard sale ordinance, drafted by the Planning Board.

The ordinance would restrict yard sales, including garage sales, barn sales, tag sales or lawn or rummage sales, to only run for a maximum of three consecutive days during one week. They also would be limited to no more than six sales at any single property, or by any resident, per year. And each yard sale on the same property would not be allowed to take place within 30 days of the previous sale.

“It’s so we don’t have continuous, ongoing lawn sales,” Gasper said of the ordinance. “So you can’t have one from Memorial Day to Labor Day.”

Two proposed ordinances would regulate the locations of proposed solar energy systems — one regulating residential systems; the other, larger commercial, or “utility-scale” solar operations, such as solar farms.

Town Manager E. Patrick Gilbert said the ordinances would regulate the placement of solar infrastructure similar to how existing town ordinances regulate wind power and cellphone infrastructure.

Voters also will set the town budget for the year, in separate warrant articles covering different areas of spending.

The proposed $1.8 million town budget is the same amount as the current year’s budget; so, by itself, it would not change the town’s tax rate, which is $15.95 for every $1,000 of property value.

However, Manchester’s share of the Regional School Unit 38 budget is up about $151,000, or 4.2 percent, and its share of the Kennebec County budget is up $16,190, or 5.4 percent, according to Gasper.

He said that means Manchester property taxpayers, barring a change in the town’s total property valuation, probably will get about a 50-cent increase in the tax rate, which would raise it to about $16.45. That would result in the owner of a $100,000 home paying $1,645 in taxes, a $50 increase over the current year. Those amounts do not include the homestead exemption, which allows homeowners to deduct some of the value of their primary residence.

Keith Edwards — 621-5647

[email protected]

Twitter: @kedwardskj