PERU — The proposed 2026-27 town budget is $2,097,207, a $355,336 increase over the 2025-26 town budget of $1,741,871, according to select board Vice Chair Gail Belyea.

The proposal includes the town’s share of Oxford County taxes, solid waste and Med-Care Ambulance. The town’s portion of the RSU 56 budget is not included.

A small number of people attended a brief informational meeting on the proposed budget on May 18 at the Town Office.

The finance committee agreed with the select board to recommend all 40 articles on the town warrant except for the Town of Peru Property Maintenance Ordinance. If enacted, that ordinance would “set a minimum standard for the maintenance of structures and the groups of property in the town in order to protect public health, safety and welfare, and provide access for safety personnel in the event of an emergency.”

Resident Bill Hine asked about reasons for the nearly $30,000 increase in the operations and maintenance budget for the fire department to $168,156. Fire Chief Dan Carrier said that contributing factors include rising truck repair costs, and the cost of firefighter physicals at the hospital has risen from $3,000 to $17,000.

Hine also asked about the increase in road department summer operations of about $50,000 to $382,378 and the winter operations by about $37,000 to $297,479. Road Commissioner Tyler McDonald said a good part of that is adding a full-time fourth member of the department, a position that was not funded in the current budget. He said fuel costs and health insurance rates have also risen.

Another increase is the maintenance and operations budget for the new town garage. A $2,500 increase to $18,000 reflects the first full year of the new garage, which is double the size of the prior garage lost to fire in January 2023.

A secretary for the select board was added to the budget at a cost of $22,880. This position has been vacant for three years. Belyea said she’s been taking minutes at the select board meetings for the past three years.

The general expenses budget amount is up nearly $40,000 to $95,400. Select board member Tammi Lyons said much of that increase is $30,000 for digital mapping, which is the process of compiling, formatting and presenting geographic data into interactive, virtual images.

She said this is something “we’ve been looking at for awhile.”

Voting on the referendum warrant will be held on Tuesday, June 9, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Peru Town Office, 26 Main St.

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