By Kelly Morgan,Staff Writer

WATERFORD – The municipal budget is expected to remain close to last year’s appropriation of $1.02 million, according to town officials.

In an effort to control spending, the Waterford Board of Selectmen will be making several recommendations for cuts.

For example, there has been a request for $150,000 to fix the Cross Street Bridge. The board, Selectman Whizzer Wheeler said Wednesday, is recommending that voters reject the request and instead ask the state to improve a nearby intersection.

That, Wheeler said, could bring in outside funds to help improve both the road and the bridge.

The Waterford Historical Society has requested $900. This year the selectmen are recommending a $500 appropriation. The change, Wheeler said, would encourage the society to go after grant money.

The board has a similar stance on the Waterford Library’s $12,000 request, and is recommending that voters approve a $9,000 appropriation.

The board also has recommended cuts to requests from the Waterford Conservation Commission, the Bridgton Chamber of Commerce, the Abused Women’s Advocacy Project and the Keoka Lake Association.

Some requests from outside organizations will not be forwarded to voters this year if groups failed to prove they served the town, Wheeler said.

The largest proposed cut would hit a $2,500 request from the Growth Council of Oxford Hills, Wheeler said. For the first time, the selectmen are recommending no funding for the organization.

A meeting last year with representative Brett Doney clinched the decision. Wheeler said Doney told the board that a proposed technology park, to which Waterford and several other Oxford Hills communities have contributed thousands of dollars, is “the lowest priority on their strategic plan.”

Wheeler said the largest increase in the town budget will likely be due to state requirements for the Waterford Transfer Station. Last year the town appropriated $150,000 to run the station. This year, the request is at $180,000.

There also is a related $30,000 request, Wheeler said, which would cover the cost associated with disposing of an ash pile left over from the recent practice of burning the town trash.

The selectmen had hoped the state would allow the town to create fertilizer with the ash, but have been told it must be taken to a dump.

Wheeler said the final budget amount will of course depend on what voters decide at the March 5 town meeting. However, he added, “I believe it actually will be slightly less than last year.”