Mattapoisett’s Finance Committee and Selectmen agreed to lease a new $164,800 loader for the town on Tuesday night.

The Highway Department’s existing loader broke down two weeks ago.

“It’s used almost on a daily basis,” Highway Surveyor Barry Denham said.

The loader is used to plow much of the town, load the sand trucks, grade the dirt roads, and other functions.

At 24-years-old, the loader has been on the Capital Planning Committee’s radar for a while.

“The Capital Planning Committee has had this as number one for two years,” said Selectmen Chair Jordan Collyer. “Our back is up against a wall. It’s got to be done.”

The town will trade in the current loader, worth $18,000, and take $12,000 from the Reserve Fund for the down payment.

“What we will do is to do a lease with a purchase at the end,” explained Town Administrator Mike Gagne, who researched pricing with Finance Committee member Patricia Donoghue.

The Finance Committee and Selectmen agreed unanimously on the purchase lease.