FARMINGTON — When residents gather Monday for the annual town meeting, they will make decisions based on a $4.6 million municipal budget recommended by selectmen.

The amount is $187,439 more than this year’s budget, according to Town Manager Richard Davis.

He estimated the 2012 tax rate at $16.51 per thousand dollars of valuation. The estimate is based on no major increases in school or county taxes, an increase of about 1.5 percent on local assessment values and whether voters approve warrant articles near the amounts recommended, he said.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. Monday, March 19, at the Community Center on Middle Street.  Elections take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Community Center. Selectman Ryan Morgan and RSU 9 director Iris Silverstein are running unopposed for three-year terms.

Nearly 90 percent of the budget is needed for operating the town, and the remaining 10 percent for road improvements with Maine Department of Transportation funds, debt service on the town garage, newest fire truck and police station renovations, and other items, he said.

The budget increase this year reflects higher operating costs for the Police Department, including the new station, he said. Wages and benefits were previously negotiated with police recruitment and retention in mind.

While the Police Department is asking for $75,000 to build a garage at 116 Franklin Ave., selectmen and the Budget Committee disagree on the method of paying for it. The Budget Committee recommends including the whole amount in the department’s budget of $1,198,677. Selectmen recommend paying $25,000 per year over three years, reducing the amount to $1,148,677.

Among the 44 articles are ones to applying for a Community Development Block Grant and to administer a $500,000 grant for the Brookside Village housing project proposed off Fairbanks Road.

Voters will also decide whether to add standards for wind energy systems and definitions for medical marijuana dispensaries to the town’s ordinances.

Parking  is available around the Community Center building and some on Middle and Quebec streets. There is also parking at St. Joseph’s Parish Hall and on the Mallett School bus loop after 4 p.m. Parking spaces are available in back of the Mallett School. Any signs for ‘short term’ parking, such as along the side of the school, can be ignored after 4 p.m., Davis said.

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