PARIS — Selectmen will be looking for public input on which roads need repair and how much the town should spend repairing them at an Oct. 24 public hearing.

After Tuesday’s meeting temporarily erupted into shouting and Town Manager Phil Tarr called the police, selectmen made it clear they wanted residents’ input before proceeding to make any formal recommendations for the town meeting.

“They want to go through the public hearing process first,” Tarr said Wednesday. He called the board “very open-minded” about public opinion on road repair.

The board will create a list of roads where upkeep is most urgent, Tarr said. The list is based on traffic flow, severity of damage and other factors, and a computer program rating those most in need of repair.

Tarr said Paris Highway Foreman Dan Nowell drove every road in town in the spring and rated their conditions.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Rob Prue of Pine Tree Engineering discussed the town’s options. Prue said the town would probably have to give roads a single, “partial” treatment to stretch its money as far as possible. For $3 million, he said, the town could fix 18 miles of roads if it put down only one layer of asphalt.

That doesn’t include ditching and culverts.

Selectman Bob Kirchherr said taxpayers would have to decide how much to spend on road repair. According to a worksheet selectmen shared, a $3 million bond would raise the mill rate by $1.17 in 2013 and slightly less in subsequent years.

Chairman Ted Kurtz submitted a chart showing that town spending on the highway, police and fire departments had risen since 2006 while capital spending on road repair has dropped. Kurtz called the chart a “very simple explanation” of how town roads have become so bad.

The condition of town roads is a touchy subject. Two men who shouted at selectmen at Tuesday’s meeting left after Kurtz recessed the meeting and waited for police to respond. A Ryerson Hill Road man complained that driving on the road had damaged his vehicles and cracked the lights on his boat.

Residents will have a chance to air their grievances at the Oct. 24 public hearing. The hearing will be at 7 p.m. at the Paris Fire Station before the regular Board of Selectmen meeting. Based on feedback from the hearing, the board will form a recommendation for a special town meeting on Nov. 14 where residents will vote on how much to spend on road improvements.

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