A heavy pause hung over the crowd in Loudon Elementary School. People shifted in their seats, waiting for the next words out of Lisa Laughlin’s mouth.

“That felt like a long time, didn’t it? That was 10 seconds,” Laughlin said, ending her pause. She recalled a time when she waited for a firetruck to come to her house, praying it would be close by from Loudon and not another town. “If you’re standing at the end of your driveway waiting, I can assure you that those 10 seconds feel a lot longer.”

Laughlin said she hopes her neighbors don’t have to experience that, but in case they do, she pleaded with them to approve a $1.7 million, 10-year bond to buy a new aerial ladder firetruck.

The town later rejected that proposal with a resounding 114-228 vote. The price was too high, some said, for a brand-new truck that they wouldn’t receive for another three years – despite the current one’s extensive performance issues and high maintenance costs. Some wanted to explore other, cheaper options.

“If I was given a choice – you could have this one for this price, or there’s these other ones that may be available that we could find locally for this price – and then let the taxpayers make the decision at that point,” said Doug Proulx.

Loudon residents were “voting our wallets,” as one resident put it, aiming to save as much as possible. They passed the $6.92 million budget without much discussion, as selectmen had already made a second round of cuts. Shaun Kitson also suggested two successful amendments that reduced the amount the town will put into its savings this year.

“It’s not sustainable, year after year, for every department to get an equal slice of the pie,” Kitson said.

Kitson’s amendments lowered the town’s deposits by $306,000. Most reductions hit the capital reserve funds for the fire department, bridge construction and roadway improvement. Others came from the expendable trust funds for the conservation commission, the historical society and the museum.

Selectmen warned against those cuts – they’d already made some.

“By reducing these more, you’re going to have less in your savings account,” Select Board Chair Jeff Miller said, “so that next year, when we have to replace something that the master plan says we should do, we’re going to be hit with raising money to put into this, which is going to increase your taxes.”

Loudon approved all its articles, including one to raise its veterans’ tax credit from $500 to $750 and one for $55,278 to match a state grant to buy eight body cameras for its police department. Residents overwhelmingly supported it, saying they’ll provide accountability for citizens and protect the town and police officers from litigation.

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for  America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, subscribe to her Capital Beat newsletter and email her at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.