CANAAN — At the polls on Tuesday, voters supported allowing the Selectboard to appoint the fire chief and firefighters, after recommendations from the chief. The article takes effect in one year.

Under the current system, firefighters vote to pick a chief and pass on their recommendation to the Selectboard, which must sign off on the choice. In 311-191 vote, residents supported the new policy, which is the first step in hiring a full-time, permanent head of both fire and ambulance services. 

“All of us in the department are very glad that it passed,” Bill Bellion, first assistant fire chief, said.

A hiring committee, which will include representatives from the fire department, ambulance service, Selectboard and a chief from a neighboring town’s department, will begin searching for an outside candidate hopefully in April, Bellion said.

By a slimmer margin, 283-232, voters approved adding $160,000 to the fire truck capital reserve fund. They also voted 369-145 to allow the Selectboard to enter a seven-year lease purchase agreement to buy a new fire truck, which will cost an estimated $143,000 annually from the capital reserve fund. 

“All in all, it went pretty well for us,” Bellion said.

In other voting Tuesday, Canaan overwhelmingly supported, 475-50, authorizing the sale of a town-owned gravel pit on Route 118.

Voters also supported the adoption of a community power electric aggregation plan.

Voters approved an operating budget of $6.16 million, up from $5.25 million last year.

They also approved a $352,000 water and sewer budget to be raised by user fees. In a separate article, voters also approved an additional $90,000 in bonds for water system improvements. The town  had previously approved a bond of $2.94 million for the project.

In an uncontested race, voters elected Stephen Freese to a three-year term on the Selectboard.

Emma Roth-Wells can be reached at erothwells@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.