Council questions $200,000 dump‑truck purchase and proposes hiring/capital pause

Council debated a capital‑reserve schedule item proposing a $200,000 replacement dump truck and discussed the capital reserve balance going into 2026 (staff said about $81,000 projected). Several council members called for pausing new hires and capital purchases until more cost‑comparison estimates are available.

Speakers noted the existing truck is a 2004/2005 model and that planned replacement is intended to ensure reliable service for snow‑plowing; staff said the capital‑reserve schedule is a funding plan and the council can modify the schedule during budget adoption. Council members suggested alternatives including: obtaining multiple repair or bed‑replacement estimates to determine whether a refurbishment would extend the truck’s service life; preparing a vetted vendor list for emergency contracting; and considering shared or contracted plowing services as temporary contingency.

Separately, council discussed recreation staffing: staff described a recreation director position funded largely by a grant (around $50,250 reported), with remaining local cost shared among participating municipalities and current budgeted contributions. Council members suggested returning to a volunteer model if program revenue cannot sustain the position in future years.

Next steps: staff will provide repair versus replacement estimates for the dump truck, outline contingency contracting options and confirm capital‑reserve fund projections for council consideration during final budget adoption.