Members of the Oakland Town Council are seated on the stage at the Messalonskee High School Performing Arts Center during the 2022 town meeting. This year, voters will consider an $8.03 million municipal budget at town meeting, set for Tuesday at the performing arts center. Morning Sentinel file

OAKLAND — Voters on Tuesday will be asked to approve a proposed $8.03 million municipal budget at the annual town meeting.

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the Messalonskee Performing Arts Center at Messalonskee High School at 131 Messalonskee High Drive.

That’s an increase over the municipal budget for 2023-24, which was approved at $7.4 million.

After taking into account other town revenue, fund transfers and reserve funds, the proposed budget asks taxpayers for $3.3 million, $277,256 more than voters approved from taxation in 2023-24, an increase of 8.36%. The proposal includes a $63,000 increase in fees for Delta Ambulance, 5.5% increase in insurances, $197,000 for a final payment on a fire truck and a 3% cost of living increase for town employees.

Town Manager Kelly Pinney-Michaud said Thursday that if all the warrant articles pass, the impact to the town’s current tax, or mill, rate of $14.40 per $1,000 worth of valuation is uncertain as the town doesn’t yet have final county and school numbers.

“We’re not going to know what the mill rate is until we commit taxes,” she said. “That’s all done in the assessing department.”

She estimates the mill rate could increase by about $1.04 per $1,000, which would result in a mill rate of $15.44.

“There’s not a lot of fluff in this budget at all,” she said. “I see no issue in the budget not passing. It’s a good budget. It’s going to address the needs, and taxes aren’t going to go up that much.”

The warrant asks for $782,119 for general government; $906,525 for the police department; $868,400 for fire and rescue; $153,172 for the public library; $207,016 for recreation; $487,244 for protection services, which includes public safety services and code enforcement; $458,322 for the transfer station and recycling; $1.46 million for public works and road improvements; $322,569 for property maintenance; and $107,500 for capital improvements.

Officials are asking to lease or purchase five public safety vehicles and buy three police shields and 11 rifles. The five vehicles include a property maintenance van, three police cruisers and a vehicle for the fire chief that can carry equipment, including items related to a command center.

Regional School Unit 18’s budget for 2024-25 is expected to be about $44 million, a 3.4% increase from this year’s budget. The RSU includes eight schools in Oakland, Belgrade, China, Rome and Sidney.