OXFORD – Town meeting voters will be asked Saturday to approve a $3.2 million budget that reflects a significant hike in fuel prices, elect members to the Board of Selectmen and School Committee and act on several street ordinances.

Action on the 40-article warrant gets under way at 10 a.m. in the Oxford Elementary School. A total of 3,259 people are registered to vote in Oxford.

The $3,253,648 budget is almost $127,00 higher than this year’s budget, which had decreased from the year before.

“Almost everything you see is a fuel issue,” said Town Manager Michael Chammings of the department budget increase requests, including a $15,000 for the transfer station and $57,000 in the Highway Department.

As is customary in Oxford, voters will open up the meeting by nominating candidates to fill open town positions. Selectman Roger Jackson, who was elected last year to fill a one-year vacancy on the Board of Selectmen, is up for a three-year term. SAD 17 director Jerry Wax is also on tap for election to a three-year term. A three-year term on the Board of Water Trustees is also open.

The Police Department is asking for $474,059, about $22,000 more than last year. Both the Budget Committee and selectmen have recommended the increase. The increase is caused by the spike in fuel costs and the need to pick up a greater portion of a shared drug agent’s salary, Chammings said.

Last year, voters approved a full-time drug agent with the towns of Paris and Norway to deal more effectively with escalating drug problems police said they are encountering in the area. But when Norway dropped out of the program this year, Oxford and Paris had to pick up a greater portion of the cost.

Chammings said that officials are trying to maintain the tax rate this year despite the increase in budgets. “We kept taxes relatively flat for the last three years. We’ll try to do it again this year. But it won’t be easy,” he said.

The rescue department is asking for an increase of about $7,000 to $200,390 while the transfer station is looking for an $15,000 hike to $232,219. “Costs are going up for fuel and tipping fees,” explained Chammings, who noted that diesel fuel is now $4.50 a gallon. Officials have already attempted to address escalating costs by increasing some fees, and it is expected the selectmen will look at the issue again after town meeting.

If voters approve the recommendation of selectmen and budget committee, the Highway Department will see an increase of about $57,000 to $495,715 and the Fire Department will see an increase of $19,000 to $236,212.

Voters will also be asked to approve $393,00 for the Capital Improvement Projects Account. The number was recommended by both the Budget Committee and selectmen. The projects include $175,000 for road improvements; $80,000 to replace a snow plow and $87,000 to match state Department of Transportation spending for major reconstruction on King Street, the site of several fatal accidents.