WEST PARIS – Selectmen voted Thursday to hold a special town meeting on Dec. 11 to ask voters to appropriate $50,000 from undesignated funds to cover highway expenses for the rest of 2008.

Town Manager John White said rising costs led to a $34,721 deficit in the highway account.

“The deficit has been caused by the high cost of fuel, salt and sand. We were OK until recently but our purchases of winter supplies put us in the hole,” White said.

The meeting will follow the regular selectmen’s meeting at 7 p.m. in the conference room at the town office on Kingsbury Street.

Selectmen will meet next at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 26, since the office is closed on Thanksgiving.

Selectmen also scheduled regular meetings for 5 p.m. on Dec. 11 and 29.

The town office will be closed at noon on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and all day on Christmas and New Year’s Day.