RUMFORD – Now that selectmen have approved a $7.05 million budget proposed for 2009-10, Finance Committee members will get their chance to weigh in on it in two weeks.

When the committee finalizes its recommendation, both selectmen and the committee will convene a public hearing for each of their budgets at 6 p.m. May 21 in the municipal building auditorium.

The annual town business meeting and a second public hearing on both budgets follows at 7 p.m. June 1 at Mountain Valley High School. Then, secret ballot voting starts at 9 a.m. on June 9 at the American Legion on Congress Street.

The selectmen’s recommendation of $7,054,685 is $3,557 more than last year’s budget. It doesn’t include school taxes, which aren’t yet known, or the county tax.

Town Manager Len Greaney said the budget proposal is $56,443 less than the allowable LD 1 tax cap budget.

To prevent municipal layoffs due to the nationwide economic downturn, selectmen chose not to increase salaries for municipal employees.

“Although the cost of living has increased, we have held the line in our Rumford municipal budget,” Greaney said late Friday afternoon in a written statement.

“We will await the Rumford portion of the school budget in hopes that they will reduce spending while sustaining essential services for our children.”

The selectmen’s side of budget work began in February and was finalized March 26. To develop recommendations, selectmen and Greaney conducted a series of budget review meetings with municipal department heads and nonprofit organizations.

The Finance Committee also conducted three question-and-answer sessions with fire, police and public works officials.

Greaney said that overall, the meetings focused on reducing spending while still providing essential services to taxpayers. Each department was asked to reduce operational spending to keep intact necessary purchases.

Under public safety, both the Fire Department and Greaney requested $793,838. Selectmen, however, capped it at $700,000, without saying where to make reductions. The recommendation is $123,938 more than last year.

Selectmen also pared a request of $814,230 from the Police Department and Greaney to $803,430, which is up $4,530 from last year. Selectmen reduced amounts allotted to overtime and regular wages.

Under public works, selectmen reduced a summer roads request for $332,121 to $285,000 without identifying where to make cuts. The recommendation is down $4,050 from last year.

The winter roads request of $603,970 was also reduced to a recommended $578,970, which is a $57,670 increase over last year.

Paving was kept at $75,000, which is $25,000 higher than last year, while selectmen halved a $40,000 request for sidewalks to $20,000, down $20,000 from last year.

Selectmen, however, recommend $50,000 for building demolition, as compared to the public works request of $25,000.

Last year, $25,000 was budgeted for this account, but as of March 31 – eight months into the current budget – the town has spent $64,015, according to budget figures.

Rather than rebuilding tax-acquired properties, Rumford has been demolishing them to alleviate safety concerns.

To rein in future spending but keep needed operational changes intact, Greaney said Rumford officials must proactively address opportunities to consolidate services for the greater Rumford region. These include fire, police, public works, code enforcement, general assistance, library, and even government.

Local town leaders, he said, must unite as equal peers to create the necessary organizational structure to make it work.

“The changes will place huge demands on our political courage to move forward at a deliberate but meaningful pace,” Greaney added.