Voters elected Nathaniel Bouchelle and Robert Hutchinson to the two open fire commissioner positions. The candidates were incumbent Bouchelle, James Derrico, Elwood Fell, Hutchinson and Joseph Valyo.

Hutchinson received 264 votes and Bouchelle 217 votes, trailed by Fell with 164, Derrico with 148 and Valyo with 103.

Under the budget rejected by the voters, the tax rate would have risen to 26 cents per $100 of assessed property value. The owner of a home assessed at the township average of $164,000 would have paid $426 in fire taxes this year, $49 more than last year.

The budget represented roughly a $400,000 increase over last year. The total amount to be raised by taxation was $2,212,959.

The budget would have allowed for cost-of-living increases and four new paid firefighters to be added to the 21-member staff, Fire Commissioner Deborah Matson said.