HARPSWELL

Residents will get their chance to vote on Harpswell’s proposed $5.22 million spending plan on Saturday.

The town will conduct its annual Town Meeting on March 10, and residents will vote on the budget, a pair of positions and funding for Curtis Memorial Library. They’ll also take up a debate on the future of the water tower at Mitchell Field.

Voters will be asked to authorize selectmen to enter into a multi-year agreement with an organization to oversee the management and repair of the water tower. If no such organization steps forward with a plan to take over management and repair its foundation by Sept. 30, selectmen are seeking authorization to spend $40,000 to demolish it.

The proposed budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year calls for total expenditures of $5.22 million, with an increase of $166,958 — or 3.3 percent — from the current spending plan.

The largest drivers of the increase are capital costs, including $200,000 for roads, for which no money was allocated in 2017. Other increases include $50,000 more for recycling, $45,000 for the Boat and Motor fund, $40,000 for facilities and about $18,000 for office equipment.

The proposed budget also includes $9,570 for University of Maine research on browntail moths in Harpswell.

Some of those increases will be offset in reductions in funding allocated for Mitchell Field, to address FEMA flood maps, and capital set aside for designing a central fire station.

The tax rate is not yet available, as the town is awaiting the completion of the Maine School Administrative

District 75 budget, which will impact whether the rate increases or decreases. Tax rates are set once Harpswell’s obligation to MSAD 75 is determined.

Two positions are up for election at the meeting: One member of the Board of Selectmen and a member of the MSAD 75 Board of Directors.

Selectman David Chipman, elected the fill the final year of former Selectwoman Elinor Multor’s term, is running unopposed for a three-year term.

There are no candidates listed on the ballot for the MSAD 75 board, but there are at least two write-in candidates: Joanne Rogers, who is a current board member, and Peter Huntsman.

The sole referendum question on the ballot is funding for Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick. While funding for the library is not new, the town has the option to vote on it via secret ballot for three years before it needs to be publicly discussed during the Town Meeting.

Last year, the townsfolk voted in favor of appropriating $137,104 for the library. This year, the voters will decide on appropriating $141,900 for the library.

The annual Town Meeting will take place at Harpswell Community School on Saturday. Articles 1-3 will begin at 9 a.m., while the main portion of the meeting will begin at 10 a.m. Voting on secret ballot items will commence after Article 1 has been acted upon, and polls will remain open until 5 p.m.