JAY — Residents are being asked to consider a proposed $6.7 million municipal budget at the polls April 29.

Voters can cast ballots from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the town’s section of the Jay Community Building at 13 Community Drive.

Absentee ballots are available at the Town Office.

A three-year term on the Select Board is open. Leanne Dalessandro, who holds the position, was the only person to turn in nomination papers.

Danielle Brotherton and Shari Ouellette are seeking a one-year term on the Regional School Unit 73 board of directors. In addition, Marie Beaulieu, Jodi Cordes, Tanya DeMillo and Christina Riley are competing for two, three-year terms on the RSU 73 board.

Running unopposed for the North Jay Water District trustee position is Scott White, who is seeking reelection to a three-year term. No one took out papers for a three-year position on the Jay Village Water District.

The proposed spending plan for 2025-26 is $607,542.36, or 9.88%, more than this fiscal year that ends June 30. A conservative revenue estimate is $3.5 million, which is $621,458, or 21.91% more than last year. It would mean voters would need to raise $3.3 million, or about $14,000 less than last year.

The $6.7 million doesn’t include the town’s share of the Regional School Unit 73 budget or Franklin County’s assessment.

The spending package includes a per diem firefighter to work from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. If approved, there would be two per diem firefighters on duty Monday through Friday and one during the weekend. The other firefighters are on-call, paid volunteers.

The package also includes $25,000 in the town government budget line for contingency, including when someone new is hired that may take a family health insurance plan or someone unexpectedly retires, or there is unanticipated benefit increase.

Other examples include if an employee separates from the town and has to be paid earned time, the money will be available instead of trying to find money in the budget to cover it, Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere said in January.

The one account will be for all departments rather than putting money in each department’s budget.

There is also an additional $25,000 included in the library budget to start a reserve account in case a 40-year-old boiler or the elevator breaks, among other aging equipment.

There is also a 5% to 7% increase factored into the budget to preserve fair bargaining practices with ongoing negotiations with three unions. The contracts expire June 30 and the final outcome is unknown.

In addition, selectpersons decided to limit the amount taken out of the town’s Tower/Recreation Reserve fund. Voters will consider raising $38,705 through taxation, which does not include $21,926 for the summer recreation program. It would cover such items as parades, recreation organizations’ liability insurances and fireworks that have in the previous two years been taken from the reserve.

It is an effort to preserve the reserve fund, which has about $110,000 for recreation purposes, including maintaining trails and paying for portable toilets for ball fields. Only the Spruce Mountain Ski Club donation of $750 will be taken from the reserve fund, if voters approve.