Residents at Palmyra’s annual  Town Meeting voted to set aside $50,000 for a town revaluation and spend $10,000 to repair the town hall, but they rejected a request to spend up to $200,000 for a new plow truck.

About 33 people turned out at the community center Saturday for the meeting, according to Priscilla Jones, the town’s administrative assistant and treasurer.

Selectman David Gilbert won reelection to a three-year term on the Board of Selectmen in Friday’s elections.

The $1.209 million budget voters approved Saturday represents an increase from the $1.086 million budget approved last year at Town Meeting, according to Jones. She said the $123,706 increase is due to the town’s having borrowed money last year for paving and to pay for a new truck. Some funds have been set aside to help make up that increase, she said.

She said residents approved all warrant articles except the one requesting up to $200,000 for a new plow truck.

“It was very quick,” she said of the meeting. “We were done in 58 minutes.”

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She said residents voted against spending money for a new truck because they said it was too much money, the town had just bought a truck last year to replace an older one, and they didn’t want to buy another one, back-to-back.

She said the town’s voting down the truck request did not decrease the proposed budget.

“Buying the truck would have involved getting a loan,” she said, adding that a first payment would not have been required until next year.

The town hall repairs will include foundation and drainage work, as a lot of water gets in the foundation in the spring, causing deterioration, according to Jones.

The proposal to have a town revaluation was introduced last year and the town hopes to do it next year, she said.


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