To the editor:

At the Portsmouth Town Council meeting on Aug. 27, I was not questioning the need for a new ambulance, but rather the process for the purchase. 

As a taxpayer, I wanted to know if an independent third party had verified the condition of the old unit. I queried if the common and accepted cost-saving process of replacing the truck chassis, updating and modernizing the ambulance module had been investigated. At this point, I was cut short but I had other issues relating to this major capital expenditure.

The introduction of this major expense just after this year’s budget process was completed is highly irregular. The ambulance did not get 200,000 miles on it and wear out overnight. We know this with our own cars. This was a known, large capital expense that should have been included in the most recent budget. 

The new budget was very tight resulting in a sizable tax increase and, most importantly, came very close to the state tax cap. Due diligence by town management should have been to include the $279,930 expenditure, financed at $39,990 per year for seven years. However, this would have pushed the town over the state tax cap or resulted in cuts to other necessary items. Creative financing will find this needed funding in a budget where it did not previously exist. 

That’s the rest of the story.

David Reise

66 Freeborn St.

Portsmouth