BETHEL – Voters at the annual town meeting Wednesday will be asked to approve a municipal budget of $3.2 million for fiscal year 2009-10.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the Crescent Park School gymnasium. If all money articles pass as written, it will increase the tax rate of $10.10 per $1,000 of valuation to $10.53, Town Manager Scott Cole said.

“The tax rate will go up because of school and county assessments,” Cole said. “School and county assessments are seeking more from the town in taxes, while the town is looking for $22,000 less in taxes to support the budget.”

The Oxford County assessment jumped 9.4 percent, from $258,768 in fiscal year 2008-09 to a proposed $283,075.

The SAD 44 assessment increased 7.4 percent from $2.14 million in fiscal year 2008-09 to $2.3 million.

The town’s spending plan of $3.25 million is down $35,815 from last year’s budget of $3.28 million, Cole said.

Voters may want to buy down the tax rate by dipping into the undesignated fund balance, Cole said.

However, the Board of Selectmen and Budget Committee recommend taking no money from the fund to reduce the property tax commitment.

Other potentially contentious issues include Article 35, which asks voters to authorize selectmen to enter into an agreement with the Maine Department of Transportation and accept $96,460 in state funds, raise an additional $63,626 in local funds and appropriate state and local funds to build a sidewalk along Mason Street and Crescent Drive.

The proposed $160,086 Safe Routes to School project will end at Crescent Park School.

Selectmen and the Budget Committee recommend a “no” vote.

Article 36 asks voters to raise and appropriate $20,000 and authorize selectmen to accept cash donations from municipalities, private individuals and foundations, and to accept donations of materials, equipment, labor and services to build a skate park at Davis Park.

Selectmen and the Budget Committee recommend a “yes” vote.

Article 37 asks voters to authorize selectmen to enter into an agreement with the Maine Department of Conservation and accept $29,602 in state funds, to accept donations of materials, equipment, labor and services valued at $44,205, and to appropriate everything to build an extension of the Bethel Pathway trail from Davis Park toward Telstar High School. It’s a distance of 2,053 feet.

Selectmen and the committee recommend a “yes” vote.

“There will be a lot of discussion about these three, although the third one is a pass-through for the town,” Cole said. “People have been generally supportive of it, but on the other two, there’s been a lot of opinions.”