LIVERMORE FALLS – Selectmen voted Monday during a budget informational meeting to reduce the $100,000 they approved last week for capital improvements to $50,000 and to add an additional $5,000 to their recommendation to fund library trustees’ full request for books.

Selectmen Bill Demaray’s motion also gave leeway to increase the capital improvement account if the spending package doesn’t raise taxes once final calculations are made.

Neither selectmen nor the Budget Committee want to raise taxes, Demaray and Budget Committee Chairwoman Louise Chabot said Monday.

Now, the two boards appear to be recommending the same amount for the proposed 2007-08 budget to cover municipal government expenses in a proposed $2.5 million spending plan. The amount to be raised by taxation, if everything remains the same as Monday night’s figures, would be $2.36 million.

The town budget is $2.38 million now, not including school or county taxes, of which $2.37 million was raised by taxation.

Selectmen and Budget Committee members have a week to make any changes to the budget before the warrant is posted and goes to public hearing on April 30. Voters will take up 42 articles pertaining solely to town government by secret ballot at the polls for the first time on Tuesday, June 12.

The last article on the warrant asks voters if they want the town to continue using the secret -ballot method of conducting town meetings and approving all budget appropriations.

Town Manager Martin Puckett ran through the proposed budget Monday, projecting figures onto the wall of the selectmen’s meeting room.

The proposed budget reflects no changes in services but starts a capital improvement account for future needs, and more paving money. The request for paving to go before voters is $198,720, up from this year’s $94,112.

It also includes money for material and equipment to repaint the highway garage roof with an asphalt-type paint, $5,000 to go with the $7,325 raised by fundraising and donations to fix the tower clock, and $2,500 to replace half the Christmas decorations.

Accounts showing increases include administration from the existing $150,062 to a proposed $162,614; Police Department from $343,289 to a proposed $374,370 with $366,432 of it raised by taxation; and contractual, from $217,603 to $264,014. The latter includes increases in ambulance-service subsidy from $36,262 to $43,514, and streetlights from $34,123 to $39,500.

Decreases are reflected in several accounts, including the Fire Department, from $72,668 to $72,293; dispatch, from $193,307 to $144,628; and public works, from $311,913 to $300,068.

“Both the Budget Committee and selectmen had differences, but by meeting together we were able to talk out our differences,” Budget Committee Chairwoman Chabot said.