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MANSFIELD - In the wake of the razor-thin override victory, town officials began Wednesday to look toward the future and how they would implement their plans, while one selectman still found fault with the way the ballot was arranged.

The temporary override of Proposition 2 1/2, known as a debt exclusion, passed by a mere 21 votes and allows, among other things, construction to resume on the four modular classrooms being built for Mansfield High School.

The construction had begun last month, but was abruptly stopped when it was discovered that the project's funding was not secured.

School officials couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday, but school committee member Jean Miller said Tuesday night that the school department will likely have to rework the contract that started the initial construction.

"We'll have to get together and talk to the construction company," she said. While officials began their planning Wednesday, Selectman George Dentino said he believes the close margin of victory sent a clear message about how future override ballots should be set up.

"If there's another debt exclusion, we have to keep it as an a la carte set-up," he said, criticizing a decision made by the town to include all proposals on one ballot question, rather than letting voters decide which individual proposals they wished to fund.

The debt exclusion also provides funding for the fire department to purchase a new exhaust system for the North Main Street station, as well as two new engines to replace ones that are failing.

"We're going to try and move ahead as quickly as possible," Fire Chief Neal Boldrighini said, referring to the department's purchasing of the new equipment.

Boldrighini said the first step will be to put the contracts out to bid and advertise them in newspapers and trade publications.

"After all the bids are in, we'll go through them and make a decision," he said.

Boldrighini said he expects it will take about a year for the department to receive the engines, but the new exhaust system should arrive much sooner.

Like the fire department, police officials say they will begin implementing their plans for new video surveillance equipment by sending the contracts out to bid.

Police Chief Arthur O'Neill said that the department hopes to have all of the equipment, which includes surveillance cameras for inside police cruisers and outside the police station, up and running in three to four months.

The debt exclusion will allow the town to pay for bonds issued to finance the projects. The debt will be paid by raising property taxes over a five-year period, beginning in 2010. MATT KAKLEY covers Mansfield for The Sun Chronicle. He can be reached at 508-236-0462 or at mkakley@thesunchronicle.com.