KINGFIELD — Selectmen and the Budget Committee have begun reviewing finances in preparation for the June 16 town meeting.

Both groups have met weekly to review line items in Public Works, Administration, Wastewater, Fire Department, Animal Control, Recreation, Transfer Station and Municipal Services.

“I haven’t reviewed the final numbers, but things look pretty flat,” Selectman Heather Moody said. “Some things have gone up, but others have gone down.”

The town’s tax increment financing appropriations generated some questions about use of the money. The fund allows the town to reserve a portion of Poland Spring Bottling Co. taxes for municipal improvements and economic development.

For example, the agreement appropriates $5,000 each year to the Kingfield Days Festival. Other community events, including the Kingfield POPs concert, the Recreation Department’s shuttle bus to Sugarloaf, and the Kingfield Artwalk, are included in this year’s funding requests.

Moody explained that expenditures are monitored by the state and can not be adjusted or rewritten without following specific guidelines developed by the Maine Revenue Services.

“We can’t add or change things without going through a lot of paperwork,” she said.

Other TIF funds go into reserve accounts for the village septic system upgrade, sidewalk improvements, and downtown reconstruction of Route 27. The town and the Maine Department of Transportation will decide on final design plans and construction dates, and the Road Reconstruction Committee will have a warrant article, asking for $50,000 for the road reconstruction plans and $10,000 for the reserve account for sidewalk improvements.  

The proposed 2012-13 town share of SAD 58’s budget are slated to include a $131,000 increase, from $1,229,767 to $1,333,055, due to a higher state-level real estate valuation. The five towns in SAD 58 will vote May 17 whether to approve the increases.

Brad Orbeton, a Budget Committee member, protested a request from the Stanley Museum, which is next to the town office building, for $3,000. He suggested that an organization that currently has a long-term $1 per-year agreement for its building already has generous benefits from taxpayers.  

“They give a $1,000 from their budget as a scholarship, so we’re using taxpayers’ money for that,” he said.

The committee agreed not to recommend funding the Museum’s request, but taxpayers may vote to reverse that decision at the town meeting.