PITTSTON — Voters on at the annual town meeting on March 17 will be asked to exempt active-duty military personnel from paying a vehicle excise tax.

The exemption affects residents on active duty permanently stationed at a military or naval post, station or base outside Maine or deployed for military services for more than 180 days.

To apply for the exemption, residents would present an excise tax collector certification from their commander or from the commander’s designated agent, according to the proposed Pittston ordinance.

The proposal includes the National Guard and the reserves of the U.S. Armed Forces. Snowmobiles would not be exempt from the tax.

Residents will also vote on a municipal budget proposal that’s a hair more than current spending.

Rose Webster, tax collector and treasurer, said the $372,650 budget proposal is up $7,634 compared to the one approved last year.

“It’s not a huge increase, but general assistance went up and so did roads,” Webster said Thursday. “Snow plowing went up a lot. Therefore, we started making some major cuts in other things we wanted to do with roads.”

The annual town meeting is 9:45 a.m. at the Pittston Consolidated School. The municipal election is March 19. Polls will be open from noon to 7 p.m. at the Town Office.

According to the town warrant, snow removal in 2011 amounted to $170,000 and in 2012 the town budgeted $275,000. The town budgeted $180,000 last year for hot-topping pavement and only $70,000 for 2012, according to the town warrant.

In other business, the select board is recommending a 20 percent reduction in charitable requests. Nonprofit groups, including Family Violence and Sexual Assault & Crisis, requested $8,714. The 20 percent reduction would bring that down to $6,971, according to the town warrant.

In the elections on Monday, March 19, three people are vying for a seat on the Board of Selectmen. Incumbent Isaiah “Ike” Peppard is up against Timothy Marks and Daniel Myshrall Jr. for the three-year term.

Other residents who have turned in nomination papers are:

• Incumbent Tom Farkas, running against Penny Poolman for the Regional School Unit 11 school board seat;

• Marlene Colvin, unopposed for her seat on the Planning Board;

• William Huberg, seeking re-election as an alternate Planning Board member;

• Jean Myshrall and Theodore Zagwyn, running for the Personnel Board; and

• S. Larry Ireland, seeking re-election to the position of East Pittston Water District Director.

No one took out nomination papers for three vacant slots on the Budget Committee.

Mechele Cooper — 621-5663

mcooper@centralmaine.com