MATTAPOISETT- Approximately $400,000 of Mattapoisett’s $1.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds will be used to update municipal technology across the town, resulting in upgrades to water meters and radios used by emergency responders. 

The funds were authorized by the government in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Select Board voted to use $391,880 of funds to replace water meters and upgrade police and fire stations’ radios. 

According to the Water and Sewer superintendent Henri Renauld, the town is in great need of water meters, with 500 in town that do not work. “The system that we had in town has failed,” he said.

The Select Board voted to use $250,000 of the funds to replace the meters, despite Renuald’s estimated cost of $203,500, in order to prepare for fluctuating prices. 

If the water meter’s cost is less than what was budgeted for, the remaining money will be used for additional water and sewer needs.

The Select Board voted to use $43,600 of the funds to upgrade the Police Department’s radios, and $98,280 for the Fire Department to do the same.

Fire Chief Andrew Murray said that some of their radios are from the 1990s. Murray explained that the outdated technology could affect communication between the Fire Department and other municipalities.