VERGENNES — On Tuesday, May 24, the Vergennes City Council discussed a sewer rate hike (see related story here) and also:
•  Heard from City Manager Mel Hawley that costs at the city’s recycling center could rise by around 10 percent, but that he did not have final numbers yet.
•  Agreed, in Mayor Bill Benton’s words, they were “conceptually” behind the purchase sometime in 2017 or 2018 of a new frontline pumper fire truck. At an earlier meeting, Hawley said such a truck would cost around $500,000 but with the trade-in of the department’s existing pumper and capital funds the cost might be closer to $400,000. The city would bond for the purchase. The existing truck is 22 years old and replacement parts are difficult to find, officials said.
•  Heard from Hawley there should be a substantial fund balance in the city’s general fund budget on June 30 to carry over into the next fiscal year, but that it was too early to pin it down.