DIXFIELD – Nearly four hours after the beginning of the annual town meeting, townspeople adopted a $1,996,217 municipal budget, reflecting a 3 percent increase over this year’s figure.

Voters decided not to take money from undesignated funds to help reduce property taxes, said Town Manager Tom Richmond, who had advised against such action early on during the Thursday meeting.

Voters kept the increase below the amount the state had mandated as an approved hike. They voted against going above the tax cap at the beginning of the meeting.

Richmond said Monday that most selectmen-recommended articles were approved by voters, with few exceptions.

That included raising $10,000 for the River Valley Growth Council rather than the $12,000 recommended by selectmen. They also reduced the $11,000 recommended for general assistance by the Finance Committee and selectmen to $6,000.

Voters agreed to use at least $56,000 from undesignated funds to cover overdrafts by the public works and police departments and moved $12,000 from the public works account to the grounds account to pay for cemetery maintenance.

They also approved $20,529 for social services organizations and projects as recommended by selectmen. The Finance Committee had not made a recommendation.

In the reserve funds account, voters approved $332,500, which was the amount requested. Some of the allocations changed, however, including upping the dollar figure for the future purchase of a firetruck to $50,000, rather than the recommended $40,000 by selectmen, and providing nothing for sidewalk reserves.

In nonmonetary articles, voters approved a revised town comprehensive plan, accepted a road for the Rocky Ridge subdivision on Holt Hill, and agreed to use undesignated funds for any costs incurred by a federally declared disaster until Federal Emergency Management Agency money is reimbursed. Richmond estimated that at about $50,000.

Richmond projected a possible tax rate of $29.75 per $1,000 valuation, up from $28 now. A definitive figure won’t be known until property estimates have been completed later in the year.

He said the tax commitment will likely be set in July or August, and tax bills for the first half of property taxes will due without penalty by Sept. 15.

Selectmen’s regular first meeting of the month was moved from the second Monday to Wednesday, June 13, so that a new board will be in place.