ARUNDEL — The town has publicly released preliminary budget figures that foreshadow what citizens will be considering at an open Town Meeting-style vote on Wednesday, June 11.

In all, voters will consider nearly $3 million in expenditures, a slight increase over the current fiscal year, and $1.6 million in revenues ”“ again, a small increase over fiscal year 2014.

The budget contains few suprises, hewing closely to revenue and expenditure figures from the past several years. The idea, said Town Manager Todd Shea, was to work closely with the budget board in vying for a flat mil rate, minimizing any impact to taxpayers.

That can be a challenge, said Shea, because the other factor that could affect taxes ”“ the Regional School Unit 21 budget ”“ operates on a different timeline than that of the municipal budget. Since the school figures have yet to be finalized, Shea and the budget board had to work with broad estimates in ensuring the lowest possible fiscal impact to residents in the town.

“It sometimes can be tricky to do that,” said Shea.

Melanie Mitchell, chairperson of the budget board, concurred.

“The challenge every year is in the balancing act between our town budget and the RSU budget,” she said. “The RSU budget is one thing we haven’t been able to control.”

She added that the town works on its municipal budget with a ballpark estimate of what expenses the school unit is likely to require; while municipal expenditures are typically curtailed to account for the RSU, that wasn’t possible this year, she said, since essential expenses couldn’t be ignored ”“ such as overdue raises for town employees.

On the revenue side, perhaps the most noticeable contrast between 2014 and 2015 is the income from the state for the veteran’s tax exemption, which had flatlined at $2,000 over the past three years, but is expected to come in at $67,500 next year. That figure, however, is misleading, according to Shea; past budgets didn’t factor in the corresponding homestead exemption, thus not providing a truly accurate depiction of what the municipality will take in as a result.

“I’ve been trying to more accurately portray what we’re getting in terms of revenues,” said Shea. “It’s not the huge increase that it looks like.”

A slight increase over this fiscal year’s revenues will come in the form of excise tax, with the town projecting income of about $675,000, an increase of $35,000.

Shea said the reason for that is simple: More people in Arundel are buying cars.

“I’m hoping it’s due to a general confidence in the economy,” he said.

An increase in expenditures next year will likely come in the form of capital equipment for the Public Works Department, which is slated to see $50,000 in funding, a $30,000 increase. In past years, said Shea, when attempting to create a flat-funded budget, the town would dip into its capital reserve to re-body the Public Works truck; this year, the town can afford to allocate those funds for the revamped body, which will come in the form of stainless steel and likely outlive the truck itself.

At $2,250, maintenance of the Eastern Trail will also see greater funding from the town, to the tune of about $750 over the current fiscal year.

Residents will vote on the budget on June 11 at 7 p.m. at the Mildred L. Day School.

— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 319 or [email protected].