Gorham voters on Tuesday validated a $29.7 million school budget for the coming year and approved an $8.7 million proposal to build two new fire stations.
The school budget, which passed by a 539-124 vote, will reduce the property tax rate by 28 cents to $10.12 per $1,000 of assessed value.
No positions were eliminated in the budget, which met a Town Council directive that school spending not trigger a property tax increase this year.
Superintendent Ted Sharpe said the department was able to comply with the council's order without cutting jobs because Gorham's state education subsidy increased and health insurance rates held steady.
The fire station plan, which passed by a 427-236 vote, is contingent on the town securing a $6.5 million federal grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the economic stimulus.
Federal funding would be supplemented by unspent money from a 2005 bond issue, and by redirecting various town reserve funds, Town Manager David Cole said.
One new station would be built in the Little Falls area and shared with the town of Windham, and the second station would be built in West Gorham and shared with Buxton.
As part of the proposal, the town would close four existing fire stations: at Little Falls in South Windham; at White Rock on Route 237 in Gorham; in West Gorham on Route 25; and in the Chicopee section of Buxton.
Gorham Fire Chief Robert Lefebvre said the plan would save money by reducing building operating costs and energy consumption, but it wouldn't increase response times to fires or emergency calls.
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