The Board of Selectmen voted 4-1 Monday to allocate the majority of a $600,000 balance in this year’s snow and ice budget toward various purchases, some which were scheduled to be acquired with bonds. Of the total balance, $300,000 was earmarked to purchase a dump truck and a loader, $165,000 for a street sweeper, $50,000 for a federally mandated inventory of road signs, and $15,000 for computerized maintenance management software that would allow residents and department heads to use their personal computers or handheld devices to report problems such as potholes directly into a work order system, said Town Manager Reginald S. Stapczynski. It is the first time in about four years that the town was left with a balance in its snow and ice budget, he said. The remaining $70,000 will be put into the town’s free cash account. - Katheleen Conti