MECHANIC FALLS – Only a handful of residents other than town officials attended a hearing Wednesday to consider a budget proposal that calls for a property tax increase and staff cuts at Elm Street School.

The Mechanic Falls School Committee is recommending raising taxes by $1.80 over the current $29.65 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The town’s Budget Committee is recommending a $1.50 increase. Voters will decide on May 18 at the annual town meeting what increases, if any, they will support.

The municipal budget calls for $1.6 million with $740,000 coming from local taxpayers. The local share of the town funding is the same as last year.

The town meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the gymnasium of the Elm Street School. Voters may choose to lower requested amounts but not to increase dollar amounts in town warrant articles.

School Union 29 Superintendent Nina Schlikin presented a budget Wednesday that actually called for a $2.10 increase in the mill rate that included $18,700 for a technology reserve account and about $26,000 in capital improvements. The technology request is presented as a separate warrant article.

The School Committee’s proposed budget calls for a total of $4.4 million with $1.6 million coming from local taxpayers. The rest would come from the state and other revenue sources.

Also included in the town warrant is the request to enter into an agreement with Minot and Poland for new Union 29 administrative office space. Poland and Minot voters already gave their approval to the plan to house school administration in a new public works building under way on the corner of Aggregate and Poland Corner roads.

Mechanic Falls would own about 18 percent of the office space after the three towns paid off a 10-year $250,000 bond. The repayment after 10 years would call for $57,000 to come from Mechanic Falls, $142,250 from Poland and $50,750 from Minot.

Each year, the cost of operating and maintenance would be divided according to the union’s cost-sharing formula, which has Poland paying 56.9 percent, Minot paying 20.3 percent and Mechanic Falls paying 22.8 percent. That operating formula will fluctuate each year according to student population and total town valuations.

The big item for the municipal portion of town warrant calls for a $250,000 roads and recreation bond, included in the town budget. The amount currently budgeted to take care of four high-priority capital improvement projects could be used next year for a bond payment that would take care of 19 projects immediately, said Town Manager Dana Lee.

Lee pointed out that low interest rates and rapidly deteriorating roads that will become more expensive with neglect make the bond option advantageous for the town.