MINOT — Residents who attend next Saturday’s annual town meeting will be asked to approve a budget that’s about 6 percent higher than the last.

The business portion of the meeting will be held 9 a.m. in the Minot Consolidated School gymnasium.

The proposed town budget, geared to maintain services at present levels, is about $108,000 higher than the current year’s budget, which stands at a little over $1.5 million.

A significant portion of this increase can be attributed to the proposed public works budget, with the request for common roads rising some $60,000 over last year to $227,000.

Town Administrator Arlan Saunders said the reason is that culverts for brooks passing under Verrill and Goodwin roads are failing and must replaced.

The culvert under Verrill Road can be replaced by round twin culverts, which, according to Saunders, would cost about $10,000. However, the culvert for the brook which passes under Goodwin Road should be able to accommodate fish passage and that would require a more elaborate concrete structure that preserves a natural stream bed. The cost for this is estimated at $50,000.

The $184,500 request for winter roads is $12,000 higher than last year, but even this, Saunders said, might not be enough. The town’s fiscal year, the year this budget is intended to address, began Feb. 1 and the town has already spent a considerable amount.

The amount proposed for the summer paving program stands at $295,000 — with $62,000 of that coming from state aid — $20,000 higher than last year. Roads scheduled to be paved include Goodwin Road and Grange Avenue.

In addition to setting the town’s day-to-day operational budget, voters will decide whether to allocate $15,000 help develop an additional field at Minot Memorial Park and will tackle three warrant articles that address the inadequacies of the town’s fire and rescue facilities.

The proposal for a 64-by-44-foot addition to Minot Central Fire Station, estimated to cost $537,000, is again up for a vote along with a more modest plan for improvements at Central Fire Station and Orchard Fire Station, estimated to cost $180,000.

The Board of Selectmen and the Budget Committee both recommended against funding the $537,000 project. The committee recommended $90,000. Selectmen made no recommendation.

Polls to elect two selectmen and two representatives to the Regional School Unit 16 School Committee will be open from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 6, at the Town Office.

There are three candidates on the ballot for the two seats on the Board of Selectmen: Daniel Callahan, Lisa Cesare and William Perry.

Dan Callahan, who is seeking his fourth full term, said he had learned a lot from his time on the board, that “most things we’re dealing with aren’t black and white, there’s always more than one side to things, I try to see the center of the road.”

He also served about seven years on the Planning Board.

Callahan graduated from Mechanic Falls High School, Class of 1965, and immediately went to work in the family business, Callahan Bros. Construction, where he “learned how to deal with everything from banks to broken equipment and still make a payroll.”

He and his wife, Judy, having raised their family, are mostly retired and live on Pottle Hill Road.

Lisa Cesare has served on the Recreation Committee since its inception about nine years ago and helped develop the town’s walking trail system and the athletic fields at Minot Memorial Park. She also serves on the Impact Fee Committee and has been chairwoman of the Conservation Committee the past two years.

Cesare graduated from Lewiston High School and earned her associate degree from the University of Maine. She is a project manager for Fidelity Information Services, where she has worked for the past 13 years.

“If I can manage being a selectman in the same manner as my job, we will be on budget and on time, all the time. I am very organized, enjoy the public, willing and able to make tough decisions and work as a team,” she said.

She and her husband, Jim, live on Garfield Road with their son, a student at Central Maine Community College.

William Perry has served on the town’s Budget Committee for the past two years.

He graduated from the New England Institute of Technology in Rhode Island and is employed at Rockwell Automation as a power and control technical consultant.

Perry drafted the town’s last contract with Time Warner Cable and successfully helped expand the cable to other areas of town. He volunteers at fundraising events for the Sexual Assault Crises and Support Center, where his wife is employed and has volunteered for an event for Camp Sunshine.

“I’m running with the desire to give something back to the community in which I live. I believe that as a selectman I can do just that. Local government should be the voice of the people to ensure the greater good for all its residents,” he said.

Perry, an avid snowmobiler, lives on the north side of town with his wife, Kat, and their two golden retrievers.

There is no one running for either of the two seats on the RSU 16 School Committee to replace Tina Love and Scott Tiner, neither of whom is seeking re-election.

Although the two seats may be filled by write-in votes, Saunders noted that in the event that people receiving write-in votes don’t accept the positions, it will up to the Board of Selectmen appoint replacements until the next regular municipal election.

“We can’t accept nominations from the town meeting floor and hold a vote a then and there the way we used to hold elections,” Saunders said.

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