SABATTUS – Town meeting voters here will consider 57 articles which, if all passed, may possibly raise the mill rate 1 to 2 mills.

Town meeting will take place at 7 p.m Friday, May 30, in the Town Hall. Selectman Rudy Gayton said she thought the warrant would generate lively discussion and that the meeting would likely carry over to Saturday.

The current tax rate is $22.50 per $1,000 of valuation, Gayton said. “There will probably be an increase,” she said, adding that selectmen will do their best to keep the rate down.

If all warrant articles pass, the tax rate could possibly rise 1 to 2 mills, said Town Administrator Tracy Fabrizio. Voters will consider a $1,750,459 proposed municipal operating budget, she said.

That marks a 3.1 percent increase from the current $1,697,033 municipal operating budget. An increase of approximately 15 percent in health insurance costs has contributed to the budget’s rise, Fabrizio said.

Voters will also consider a $4,272,606 proposed school operating budget. That marks a 2.42 percent increase from the current $4,171,662 operating budget.

“We really did attempt to hold the line on the budget,” Superintendent Paul Malinski said at a recent selectmen’s meeting.

A 10-percent increase in health insurance costs, a 40.7-percent increase in property and casualty insurance and, among other things, a 22.9-percent increase in oil costs have fueled the jump from the current school budget to the new proposed school budget.

One warrant article asks the town to form a committee to study the feasibility of hiring a town manager. The same article asks the town to change the Board of Selectmen from three members to five. “I think it’s way too much money,” Gayton said, adding that she does not support the article.

A town manager would cost $50,000 per year at a minimum, she said. Another article asks townspeople to hire a full-time fire chief, who would also act as building and equipment caretaker and do some minor truck maintenance.

The position would cost $30,000 per year. A similar article got voted down at last year’s town meeting, Gayton said. “I don’t think it will pass (this year),” she said, adding that the town has not reached the point where it requires a full-time fire chief.

Another article asks the town to raise and appropriate $5,000 as its share of a $10,000 state planning grant. The money would be used to upgrade the town’s comprehensive plan.

The upgrade will set the direction of the town for the next 10 years. The upgrade will include, among other things, updating town maps for roads and aquifers. The old plan is more than 10 years old.