AUBURN – Councilors may not be expecting a crowd for Monday’s meeting, but they’re not taking any chances.

The city will move Monday’s City Council meeting and budget hearing out of Auburn Hall and into the roomier Central Maine Community College Kirk Hall gymnasium.

“We’re taking the conservative approach,” acting City Manager Laurie Smith said. “We have limited space in the council chambers. Sometimes people feel that if we have an overflow of people in another room, not everyone gets to be there and hear the same information or give comment.”

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. It will be shown live on Great Falls TV, Time Warner channel 7 and Oxford Networks channel 11.

“It’s the only other place we have that we can show it live,” Smith said. “If we go to school, we can tape it but we can’t show it live.”

Councilors have been reviewing individual budgets for the past few weeks. Overall, the budget calls for $873,220 more in spending for municipal and school operations, and $453,466 more in property taxes. That’s a 1.35 percent budget increase.

School officials have proposed eliminating 29 positions, which would include layoffs of teachers, several administrators and other school staff.

Cuts would also eliminate the land lab, and reduce services such as substance abuse and counseling.

Municipal officials are facing a 3.2 percent spending increase compared to the current budget. That amounts to $892,081 more, mostly from rising fuel prices and utilities, employee benefits and public works equipment.