Spending in the proposed $9.9 million Winthrop municipal budget is up but is expected to be offset by revenues that are up even more.

Town officials still have to decide whether to put money aside for major purchases, including a new fire ladder truck that could cost about $2 million, and decide whether they’ll approve the $15.6 million school budget recently approved by the school committee.

Town councilors and officials are currently going through the proposed spending plan, but they won’t know how it will impact the tax rate, which is currently $23.10 for every $1,000 of property value, until the overall budget is approved, according to Anthony Wilson, town manager.

Here’s what to know as the budget moves forward.

EXPENSES UP 2%, REVENUES UP 8.8%

Proposed municipal spending, not including funding for Kennebec County government or Winthrop schools, is up 2%, or about $202,000.

That’s offset, however, by an 8.8% increase in nonproperty tax revenues — $503,000 more than the current year’s budget and $301,000 more than projected expenses.

Those additional revenues, Wilson said, come from a combination of increased revenues resulting from Winthrop following a cost comparision charging more to surrounding towns that use Winthrop’s ambulance service and who rely on Winthrop for public safety dispatching, as well as excise taxes and other revenue sources.

However, the additional $301,000 in revenue more than the increase in expenses doesn’t necessarily mean a property tax decrease, because neither the school budget nor plans for major capital improvements have been approved by the town council yet.

MAJOR EXPENSES: PAVING, FIRE TRUCK

Wilson said one of the major factors in the budget yet to be determined will be how much councilors want to set aside for upcoming major capital improvements, which he said is likely going to present the most challenging decision for the council this year.

Capital improvements are generally major long-lasting purchases and projects.

For Winthrop, one of the biggest such purchases is a new fire ladder truck to replace the town’s current rig. Wilson said a truck like that could cost about $2 million. Its replacement is likely around four years out, in part because having the truck built would take that long. But Wilson recommends putting away $250,000 toward that eventual purchase, to reduce the amount town officials would need to borrow for the proposed new truck.

Other potential capital needs include paving, which Wilson said the town typically has put about $500,000 into most years, and money to pay for a projected $400,000 townwide property valuation, for which the town already has $300,000 set aside. And Wilson said officials will need to decide when to replace police cruisers and ambulances as they age.

SCHOOL SPENDING NOT FINALIZED

The school committee approved a proposed $15.6 million school budget March 18, but in Winthrop the town council must also approve the school budget, as part of the overall budget, too.

Wilson said the school budget is expected to be discussed at an April 6 meeting.

RISING FUEL, UTILITY COSTS

At the suggestion of Councilor Roy Weymouth during at a March 30 budget workshop, Wilson and Nick Poole, the town’s finance director, plan to consider adding funding for fuel and utility budget costs, perhaps as a contingency account to cover cost overruns in multiple departments, due to the increasing cost of both, as fighting continues between the United States and Iran.

“That could be a significant increase, because we don’t really know what’s going to happen,” Weymouth said.

WHAT’S NEXT

Town councilors are currently meeting with department heads to review their budget proposals.

Wilson anticipates councilors will approve a school budget April 27, in time for the school portion of the budget to go to voters in a validation referendum June 9.

Wilson anticipates the council could vote to approve the overall budget June 1, but it has until as late as July 1 to approve the spending plan.