DIXFIELD – Voters finally gave selectmen the amount of money they recommended at Thursday’s annual town meeting for the public works department, but not before several amendments and suggestions to contract out the town’s road work were made.

After two hours, the nearly 100 people who turned out had taken care of only nine articles, with 28 to go.

One of the issues was the more than $40,000 overdraft needed to pay public works bills. Selectmen recommended a more than 10 percent increase from the figure adopted at last year’s town meeting to ensure that unexpected expenses would be covered for the 2008 fiscal year.

The figure approved by voters was $349,564, providing residents agreed to move cemetery maintenance costs of about $12,000 to the grounds account. By mid-evening, the $12,000 was subtracted from public works, but the article asking for the additional money for grounds had not come up.

But some wanted to cut the finally-adopted figure even more, or contract out the work.

“Maybe we should recommend that public works be contracted out. Maybe we should revisit whether we want a 24-hour police department. If we don’t want to pay taxes like we are, maybe we should contract out all of them,” said former Selectman Dan Mitchell.

The public works department has at least a $40,000 overdraft, the police department has overspent by about $7,500, the grounds department by about $6,400 and debt service by almost $400. An article seeking approval to take those sums from undesignated money was to come up later.

Newly appointed Town Manager Tom Richmond said a closer watch on the accounts will be made in the coming year, and if any accounts require more money than was budgeted, a special town meeting will be called.

Voters appropriated $212,338 for the police department after a majority rejected an amendment that would have cut the figure in half.

They also refused to authorize a municipal budget higher than the state’s mandated tax cap by a vote of 44-35. This year, Dixfield could raise about $105,000 more than the current fiscal year, or $2,027,991.

If voters by the end of the meeting approve all selectmen-recommended figures, the total will fall within the amount approved by the state.

Voters also approved $219,960, nearly $23,000 higher than this fiscal year, for the executive department, which includes salaries for the town manager and office personnel, contracted services and utilities.

Prior to the start of action on money articles, townspeople honored former Selectman Richard Pierce as Distinguished Citizen of the Year.

They also elected Norine Clarke, Cynthia Coulombe, David Harvey, Carol Greene, and Cynthia Welch to the Finance Committee; David Saphier to the Ione Harlow Scholarship Committee; Gina Cloutier as a Ludden Memorial Library trustee; and Ralph Clarke and Sonya Fuller to the Water Advisory Committee. Two seats remain vacant on Water Advisory Committee.

Voters reduced the rate of interest for taxes paid late from 12 percent to 11 percent, and set due dates for taxes for Sept. 15 and April 15.