Jaffrey is seeking funding for mandated water projects during Town Meeting this year.

During a budget hearing on Saturday, the Budget Committee reviewed the town budget and the town’s 12 monetary warrant articles. Among them is a bond for $1.6 million to install a water treatment building at the town’s Turnpike Well – a project already approved by voters in 2023 for $10 million. The additional funds are supplemental, to cover cost increases after the final design of the project.

The building is meant to treat PFAS that has been detected in the well, which has been offline.

The majority of the original request is expected to be covered by various grants and loan forgiveness through American Rescue Plan Act state funding and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. For the additional supplemental funding, the town has applied for a loan through the state Department of Environmental Services, with the potential for 30% of the principal forgiven. The remainder of the funds will come from water user fees, not taxation.

In other Water Department-related items, the town is requesting $425,000 for the purchase of a new vacuum truck. Again, the funds are anticipated to come from a DES loan, with the potential for 70% of the principal forgiven, leaving the cost to be raised by the town at $127,500, which would come from the town’s accumulated water fund, not taxes.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency is requiring all water systems in the country to inventory the materials of their water service lines. If the materials are unknown, the lines must be excavated to determine the material. The town has investigated the option of contracting the work, at an estimated cost of $2.1 million. Purchasing the vacuum truck allows town staff to perform the work.

Both water projects, since they relate to taking on debt, require a three-fifths vote to pass.

The total proposed budget for the coming year is $7.63 million. This is about a $333,295 increase, or 4.6%. The biggest increases come from salaries. Law enforcement salaries are about a third of the increase, with other salaries an additional $22,671, and another $21,230 from insurance increases.

In a separate article, the town is asking for approval of a collective bargaining agreement between the town and the Department of Public Works employees. The three-year agreement includes salary and benefits increases for this year of $38,088, $22,135 next year and $26,280 in 2027. The agreement includes a 4% cost-of-living wage adjustment, a $10 call pay increase for water operators and highway call pay and clothing allowances.

Another increase is the ambulance, which has a $38,500 hike, and an additional warrant article asks the town to establish an ambulance trust fund with $40,000.

The Jaffrey-Rindge Memorial Ambulance requested total funding of $125,000 each from its two member towns, Town Manager Jon Frederick explained. That’s a total increase of $78,500 from the current budget. The Select Board agreed to include $85,000 in the operating budget, and the additional $40,000 in the warrant article for discussion at Town Meeting. Rindge took a similar approach.

Frederick said that even with the increase, JRMA is the most-affordable option for the towns. Contracting with Peterborough would cost about $560,000 annually, and contracting with the county would be $250,000, with worse response times, Frederick said.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.co m. She’s on X @Ash leySaariMLT.