BUCKFIELD — Town Manager Cameron Hinkley is calling for the development of a capital improvement plan to address aging equipment and buildings as well as planning for their financial upkeep.

“We have older equipment,” Hinkley said. “If you look at the expected life cycle, we’ve already gone through the majority of it. We’re already behind planning for this stuff. It would be impossible for us to budget for everything we need replaced.”

He added that budgeting for everything the first year would cost the town more than $1 million and then a half-million dollars for each of the following four years. That does not include adding new items to the capital improvement plan, he added.

Among items listed on the town’s plan for improving the Municipal Center within the next five years include replacing the windows, paving the parking lot and installing an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant ramp. The fire/rescue department will need a new overhead door, a fire engine and an ambulance. Public works will need to replacer several vehicles.

Hinkley said the capital improvement plan would be a living document that can be updated as needed and adjusted every year. It would also allow officials to prioritize what is needed and what to save for.

Hinkley said the town should calculate the expected life of each item, calculate the total cost and then start putting money aside in a reserve account to be available when the item needs to be replaced. Even having funds for a down payment could save the town money.

As an item is purchased, funds should be put aside for the next one.