PARIS — Voters approved a $3.3 million budget at the annual town meeting Saturday.

The budget represents about a $50,000 increase over last year, Town Manager Philip Tarr said. It was originally shown as an $87,000 increase, but Tarr said that amount included tax-increment financing funds that were being recorded in a different way and did not represent a budget increase. He said the budget increased about 2.7 percent over last year.

The budget includes a $50,000 deposit to start a fund for a tax revaluation, an increase in General Assistance and funding for a full-time police officer’s position. It also reflects wage increases and higher benefit costs, as well as the merging of the tax assessor and code enforcement officer positions.

Selectman Ted Kurtz, who had advocated a flat-funded budget and voted against recommending the figures, recommended that the budget be sent back to Tarr for further cuts.

Kurtz said the Budget Committee did not take into consideration whether the tax base could meet municipal expenses, including the average income growth of residents, the rate of property growth and anticipated inflation.

Vic Hodgkins, chairman of the Budget Committee, said the committee handles expected expenditures more than it looks at income sources. He said the municipal budget has been reduced or flat-funded in recent years.

“There comes a time in life when you have to ask if you’re spending good money,” Hodgkins said.

Kurtz also opposed an article to appropriate from surplus the overdrafts to town accounts as of June 30.

“This scares me,” he said. “I think there has to be some kind of limit on overdrafts.”

The article was too open-ended, Kurtz said, and suggested a $10,000 cap on any transfer to cover overdrafts. Selectman Lloyd “Skip” Herrick said he agreed with the suggestion in theory, but said the article allows for flexibility in the event of an emergency. An amendment to establish a cap was defeated and the article passed as written.

The town voted to enter into a renewed agreement with the Oxford County Regional Recycling Corp. The current agreement expires at the end of the month. Resident Robert Jewell said the town should look for a better deal because it receives no revenue from the agreement.

Kurtz said the town had the option to opt out of the agreement and was in the midst of looking into overall changes to the way the town does recycling and trash disposal.

Voters continued to waive automatic foreclosure on three tax liens on property belonging to A.C. Lawrence Leather Co. on Oxford Street. Chairman Raymond Glover said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did extensive removal of contaminated soil on the property at a cost of about $3 million, and that the town might be liable for reimbursement if it repossesses the land.

Glover announced the results of an informal survey done at Tuesday’s voting to determine public opinion on the disposition of the former fire station on Pine Street.

The results showed a split opinion, with 138 in favor of demolishing the building and retaining the land and 134 in favor of retaining the station and finding a new use for it. Eighty-two people preferred selling the building but retaining the property to dump snow.

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