RUMFORD – Residents will act on a 37-article annual town meeting warrant when they meet at 7 p.m. Monday, June 7, in Muskie Auditorium of Mountain Valley High School.

In addition to the municipal budget of $6.3 million, residents will also decide whether to fund social service and other agency requests of $372,000, act on a request to build a new fire station, decide whether to make several amendments to the town’s bylaws, and decide whether to authorize the town to place several potential business/industry sites into a state supported Pine Tree Development Zone.

The $6.3 million proposed 2004-05 municipal budget is up about 1 percent from the current year’s figure. Social service and other agency requests, known as initiated articles, at $372,000, is also up about 1 percent from last year.

Town Manager Robert Welch said the higher proposed municipal budget is the result of increases across the board for salaries, materials, insurances and other routine items.

Among the more controversial articles is a request to raise $1.9 million through bonding, for construction of a new fire station to replace the nearly 80-year-old structure on Congress Street.

A fire station task force recommended building a new facility last year to meet the changing needs of a modern fire department. But some have argued that this is not the time for making such an expensive investment, while others say that the demands of the Fire Department require construction.

Proposed bylaw changes include action on proposed mobile home park and subdivision regulations, an increase in the fines for cab companies that do not renew their annual registrations on time, a change in the building code standards, and an update in the regulations for protection and control of domestic animals.

Four sites in Rumford have been identified as eligible for a variety of state tax breaks for businesses that qualify under the state’s Pine Tree Development Zone plan. These are the current and under-development industrial and business parks, the former Thurston mill on Route 2, and the River Valley Technology Center on Lowell Street. Residents will decide whether they want their town to join in this economic plan.

The current tax rate is $19 per $1,000 valuation. The tax rate for the upcoming year will be set in August. The first half of property taxes will be due by Oct. 1, and the second on April 1.

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