KINGFIELD — With the June town meeting nearing, selectmen and the Budget Committee made final budget recommendations Tuesday.

Selectmen have suggested combining wastewater and cemetery funds with Public Works’ budget as a way to streamline bookkeeping, generate flexible work assignments and save some money. With a single department, seasonal jobs, such as mowing town properties in the summer, could be handled through one person using the town’s equipment, rather than accepting bids from independent contractors. Voters will be asked at the June 18 town meeting to approve that recommendation.

Few department line items could be slashed or eliminated, but all department heads shared in the recommended cuts. Rapid increases in fuel prices are expected to add more strain, but those costs are only an estimate.

“This is a bare-bones budget,” administrative assistant Douglas Marble said Monday night.

Health insurance for employees has increased 22 percent, he said, and the town’s share of SAD 58’s 2011-12 school budget includes a $300,000 jump, due to a state-level decision that the town’s real estate valuation is higher because of its proximity to Sugarloaf, housing sale prices and costs of construction to build new homes, Marble explained.

“It’s like what happens with real estate prices on the coast,” Marble said.

The town will see a revenue increase from taxes from Poland Spring’s equipment at the bottling plant, but that means the town then will pay a larger share of regional costs.

Administration, wastewater, fire department, public works, recreation, animal control, transfer station and cemetery accounts remain much the same as last year. The Recreation Department’s finances will now be handled by selectmen, and some committee members expressed concern that their seasonal shuttle bus to Sugarloaf should remain free to the public. Selectmen should find a way to recoup some revenue, one member suggested.

“We looked at that, but we don’t really have a way to collect money, and the shuttle is mostly funded by a grant,” Selectman Heather Moody explained.

The group reviewed proposed expenditures from the Tax Increment Financing account, which includes tax-sheltered funds from Poland Spring. Money must be used for preapproved projects, including a village enhancement plan, Kingfield POPs, Kingfield Days, a sidewalk upgrade and 15 percent of the administrative assistant’s salary.

The town budget includes a 1 percent salary increase for all employees. The highway department will rent a street sweeper, which will cut labor costs. The town’s water billing system will change to reflect actual usage by household, rather than a standard usage charge billed quarterly.

“Some people will see their bills go up, and others will see theirs go down,” Marble said. “It might be the incentive for people to fix those leaky toilets or faucets, though.”

Selectmen plan to use $32,000 from the TIF account to upgrade the town’s sewer system. The system is old and expensive to maintain, creating a financial liability for the municipality. About $8,300 in unpaid sewer bills has contributed to a shortfall in that budget category.

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