Clinton Finance Committee Holds Fire Overtime Flat, Cuts Paramedic Slots to Four

CLINTON -- April 14, 2026, Clinton Finance Committee holds fire overtime flat at $500,000 and trims paramedic request. Meeting on April 14, the committee declined to fund the fire chief's projected $750,000 overtime spend, holding the line at the current-year $500,000 appropriation, and limited the ambulance enterprise fund's paramedic positions to four rather than the eight requested, the same number funded last year, when no paramedics were hired. The panel also unanimously approved a $30,000 reserve fund transfer for two unanticipated fire department expenses: a Lexapol policy-and-procedure contract and new tablets to interface with the police department's recently installed computer-aided dispatch system, bringing the year-to-date total drawn from the $200,000 reserve fund to roughly $62,000. One member called for the Select Board to commission an audit of the overtime account, noting the line has grown from roughly $200,000 to a projected $750,000 over six years: "No matter what we have done, that line item has only gone up." The committee also indicated support for making the town's HR assistant position full-time and scheduled a joint budget subcommittee with the Select Board, with a final budget due by May 21.