Conway Voters Approve $7.6 Million Budget and $850,000 Fire Truck at Annual Town Meeting

WHATELY -- June 9, 2026, Conway voters approved a $7,568,446.11 operating budget and a series of capital purchases at the town's Annual Town Meeting on June 9, drawing down nearly all of the town's $894,273 in certified free cash. Finance Committee Chair Alan Singer told attendees that roughly $286,000 in free cash would remain after all transfers, about 3 percent of the operating budget, at the low end of the state-recommended range. The largest appropriation was a $230,000 transfer for a replacement bucket loader, followed by a $150,000 draw on the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund to pair with a $700,000 USDA earmark grant for an $850,000 pumper truck. Planning Board Vice Chair Jeff Lacey defended the meeting's most contested item, Article 24, which amended the zoning bylaw to exclude tents, yurts, and recreational vehicles from the definition of a dwelling unit; an amendment to strike a requirement that dwelling units be "permanently affixed to a foundation in the ground" failed 31-44, and the article passed as written, 46-30. The town's property tax rate has fallen from $17.15 to $14.28 per $1,000 of assessed value since 2023, a Select Board member noted in closing.