Auburn Finance Committee Recommends $6.5 Million Fire Budget After Overtime Debate

AUBURN — March 25, 2026 — Auburn Finance Committee approves $6,556,115 fire budget after debate over overtime funding and ambulance-receipt transparency. The committee voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend the town manager's fire department budget, which carries an additional $2.2 million in ambulance-receipt offsets not visible on the main budget pages — bringing the department's true annual operating cost to roughly $8 million. A $300,000 supervisor-overtime request had been cut before the meeting; the deputy fire chief noted the existing $600,000 overtime line, level funded for eight years, already falls below the department's 15-percent-of-payroll benchmark and will be strained further by new collective bargaining rates. The department's sole Emergency Vehicle Technician, Ken Raboin, notified the chief on the day of the meeting that he will retire sometime after December 2026; no replacement mechanic is funded in the current budget. Town Manager Dory committed to integrating all funding-source information directly into departmental budget pages for the next fiscal year. The committee also recommended budgets for the Town Clerk, Elections, Town Hall, General Services, and Emergency Management, and heard that the regional dispatch center (SEMRECC) is pursuing a new Auburn property with a state grant application due April 15.