Somerset Finance Committee Votes Unanimously to Raise ALS Fund Limit to $2 Million

SOMERSET — March 26, 2026 — Somerset Finance Committee votes to raise ALS revolving fund limit from $1.8 million to $2 million. The seven-member committee voted unanimously Thursday after the fire chief reported nearly $145,000 in unanticipated expenditures from the fund this fiscal year, including $70,000 for two new LifePack 35 cardiac monitors, a $25,000 service plan for patient monitors, and roughly $50,000 in storm-related overtime. The department, which handles just under 5,000 calls for service annually — up from about 2,300 in 2018 — draws the fund to pay salaries for 13 firefighter positions. The fire chief also previewed two capital articles for town meeting: PFAS-free turnout gear replacement quoted at just under $310,000, described as his top priority on health and safety grounds, and a utility vehicle to replace an aging Ford F-350 that suffered mechanical failures during both major winter storms. The police chief reported a 2.39 percent overall budget increase, with a 3 percent cost-of-living placeholder built into wage lines ahead of upcoming patrol and supervisors union negotiations, and noted the department is adding an Axon virtual-reality training simulator at an $11,000 annual licensing cost.