At a socially distanced meeting on June 29, Fire District 3 residents unanimously approved a $3.36 million budget for next year, along with some changes to the district’s bylaws.  

The budget is $10,000 less than last year’s figure, and includes compensation for district officials, firefighters and bond payments for the fire station — all of which District 3 Fire Chief Richard Arruda said were “level-funded.”

“We know this is not a good time to have a budget increase or any big projects,” he said. “We just wanted to make sure that none of our programs would be decreased.”

Voters also approved two amendments to the district’s bylaws concerning how to handle the annual election and meeting if the pandemic worsens.

With the new amendments, if the Prudential Committee postpones the election or meeting, it can then be kept postponed until it is deemed safe to hold one. If there are any vacancies during that time, the committee can temporarily fill it until the election is held.

Fire District Clerk Joan Brennan said the Prudential Committee is currently working through some logistics with regard to the district’s upcoming election, but aims to set it up some time during phase three of the state’s reopening plan.

“During an election, the timeframe is so sporadic,” she said. “We just want to make sure that things are as safe as they can be for our voters.”