COLRAIN — Voters will be asked to consider adopting a local meals tax, buying a new fire truck for $850,000 and approving a $5.29 million budget for fiscal year 2026 at Annual Town Meeting on Tuesday, May 6.

The meeting will start at 6 p.m. at Colrain Central School, 22 Jacksonville Road. Colrain residents will be asked to weigh in on the 25 articles on the warrant.

Article 19 seeks approval to buy a $850,000 fire truck. Fire Chief Nicholas Anzuoni said the department plans to replace its 2001 KME 1250 with something newer and a little bigger.

“When we bought it, it had a cabin for two people, and we’re trying to get a custom engine with a cabin that can fit up to six people,” Anzuoni said.

Anzouni said the current truck has 25 years of road salt and other wear and tear, and has required frequent repairs. The new truck would be stainless steel and weather-resistant, and would allow firefighters to have more space while riding in the truck. The current truck’s cabin is tight and doesn’t leave much space for gear like air tanks.

“It’ll help us in keeping with our mission in protecting the town and keeping our guys safe while doing so,” Anzouni said.

During a review of the warrant last week, Town Administrator Diana Parsons said if voters agree, the town will pay for the fire truck using its free cash and stabilization funds. According to the state Department of Revenue, Colrain has $439,763 in certified free cash for FY25. If the town transfers $20,000 to the General Stabilization Account and $40,000 to the Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) Fund as proposed in Articles 14 and 15, the town would be left with $377,000 to buy the truck.

“We’re only making three transfers out of free cash — one of them is for the fire truck,” Parsons said. “We’re using most of the free cash for the fire truck and I want to leave a little for general stabilization. You always want to leave a little on the table in case things go awry next year.”

Articles 4 to 13 break down the town’s proposed $5.29 million budget, which is a nearly 8% increase from FY25. For FY26, the town is proposing $530,696 for general government, $346,972 for public safety, $866,931 for public works, $46,397 for human services, $115,470 for culture and recreation, $2,050 for debt payments, $12,976 for its Franklin Regional Council of Governments assessment, and $416,596 for insurance and retirement benefits.

The town’s assessment for the Mohawk Trail Regional School District will be nearly $2.59 million and the assessment for Franklin County Technical School will be $357,201.

Parsons said the town is in good financial standing and the budget reflects that.

“You’ve got [roughly $500,000] sitting in general stabilization, half a million in highway stabilization, almost a million in Chapter 90,” Parsons said. “You’re in a very, very strong position. You have plenty of levy capacity. … As much as the budget looks substantially bigger, you’re in a great financial spot.”

The town is also looking to increase its available funding by asking voters to adopt a local meals tax in Article 25. The state imposes a 6.25% tax on prepared meals and allows municipalities to adopt an optional 0.75% tax that would raise the total rate to 7%. Parsons said it is a small sum, but over time the funding could build up to be a good amount that could help fund roadwork and other town projects.

“I am asking the town to consider this. It ends up being like $0.05 on a $5 coffee,” Parsons said. “The idea is that we’ll try to use this money to help with offsetting costs of the roads.”

If the article is passed and town staff are able to submit the paperwork to the state on time, the tax will go into effect on July 1. Twelve other communities in Franklin County have adopted the tax and, in FY24, they raised a combined $927,677 from the tax.

Other articles on the warrant include:

■Appropriating $2,000 for the restoration and preservation of town records.

■Appropriating $1,500 for crisis management supplies and services.

■Approving a $734,076 broadband budget, which is paid for with user fees.

The full 25-article warrant can be viewed at tinyurl.com/ColrainATM2025.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.