Randolph residents review warrant articles Wednesday that detail town spending requests at the annual town meeting at the Randolph Town Hall, where voters approved a $1.56 million municipal budget. Emily Duggan/Kennebec Journal

RANDOLPH — Town meeting voters easily passed a proposed $1.56 million municipal budget Wednesday night, with the only real discussion focused on whether residents would appropriate money for townwide trash pickup.

More than 20 residents voted on 48 warrant articles.

Town officials left it to residents to decide if they would allocate money to a town-run trash pickup, which voters narrowly rejected. Officials left the matter to residents, Selectman Matt Drost said, because of how high the cost is compared to past years.

“The estimate was more than $9,000 to do the cleanup,” Drost said. “It’s two times more than what it was in the past. There is no recommendation (on the article) because we don’t know what to do. The article is out there so a number can be raised.”

The trash pickup by the town offers an organized way to bring larger items, including furniture, metal or anything else that is difficult to throw away, to the right place. About 30 residents take advantage of the service each year by paying for a permit.

For regular trash items, most people bring bags to Hatch Hill in Augusta.

Resident Stephanie Duncan suggested raising $2,500 for cleanup next year, if people feel they do not need the service this year.

Gail Ann Coughlan wanted to raise something so people did not throw away trash on their lawn. Her husband, Peter Coughlan, thought differently, saying he did not think it made sense to raise $2,500 to pay for 30 people to throw out their trash.

“I disagree,” Gail Ann Coughlan said to her husband. “I think that people’s yards might look better. Not everyone has a Hatch Hill permit or trailer.”

Ultimately, residents decided not to raise anything toward the article, saying they will decide next fiscal year on how to move forward.

Two other minor adjustments were made to the budget: The September tax collection date was changed to Sept. 26 to avoid a conflict at the Town Office, and the town voted to raise and appropriate $96,176, instead of $91,000, to the town’s fire hydrant contract. The bill came in after the town warrant was printed.

As proposed, the town’s spending plan is about $19,176 more than what town residents approved a year ago.

The other drivers of the slight increase are the levels of inflation that have affected prices, including office supplies and insurance, and a combined $7,000 overall increase to the town’s four salaried office positions to keep up with the cost of living.

When combined with Randolph’s share of the Gardiner-area school district budget and the assessment for Kennebec County, the total spending plan comes in at $2.96 million, about 5.3% more than the $2.84 million approved for the last fiscal year. The town’s share of the Maine School Administrative District 11 budget and Kennebec County budget is $1,252,860 and $151,639, respectively.

Of the municipal budget, $866,176 is to be raised through property tax. The balance is expected to come from other sources to offset the impact on Randolph property owners.