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.