DIXFIELD – About 50 people voting at town meeting Saturday approved a $1.75 million municipal budget for fiscal year 2004-05.

Midway through the meeting, a $27,000 error was noticed on the warrant in the Grounds Department budget request of Article 14. An extra zero was inadvertently added to a $3,000 request under personnel services.

With that correction noted, initial budget requests totaled $1,771,922. Voters pared it to $1,756,794, an increase of $156,382 from last year’s $1,600,412 budget.

After electing Don Roach of Peru moderator, the meeting bogged down on Article 5, which sought to raise a recommended $194,340 for the executive department.

At issue was an 8 percent raise that selectmen gave to Town Manager Nanci Allard without conducting an annual job performance evaluation.

Resident Paul Jones started the nearly 45-minute discussion, asking Allard and selectmen why the town manager’s salary had risen to $45,360 when she was contracted through the end of 2005 at $42,000 per year.

Allard said she requested a salary renegotiation to be paid closer to what other town managers in the River Valley area and Bethel were getting paid.

Jones countered saying there was no basis for the 8 percent increase, because the contract had not been amended, and selectmen had yet to conduct a job performance evaluation.

Selectman Chairman Hugh Daley said the board decided to give Allard a cost-of-living increase for last year and this year. But, he admitted that he didn’t know what those numbers were.

Others present, however, said the figures were 2.1 percent last year and 2.9 percent this year.

An amendment to reduce the 8 percent increase to 5 percent was defeated. A majority then passed the article, agreeing to raise $194,340. Selectmen, however, were strongly urged to evaluate the town manager’s performance as soon as possible.

Voters also took their time with Article 13, which sought to raise a recommended $16,808. Because the article did not specify an amount, a motion was made to raise $17,108.

Following discussion, it was amended down to the article’s original recommendation of $16,808. But another amendment bumped it up to $17,308, which a majority then approved.

Voters took Articles 16 and 17 line by line, respectively approving $18,845 to be raised for social services, and $231,835 for regional expenses.

Voters inserted an item into Article 17, seeking to raise $1,000 for Black Mountain of Maine ski area in Rumford, which had requested $10,000 initially.

Allard said the item was inadvertently omitted from the warrant.