West Fairlee’s Town Meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 4, in the Community Building to vote on nearly two dozen warning articles. Voting by ballot to approve the operating budget and elect town officials will take place in the Community Building from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7.

West Fairlee — Residents on Town Meeting Day will be asked to approve an operating budget with a marginal increase of about 1.6 percent.

Selectboard Chairwoman Delsie Hoyt said the roughly $10,000 increase in spending — to $626,864 — largely is attributable to cost overruns associated with replacing the Lake Fairlee Dam.

The town applied budget surplus to cover a chunk of the overage, but the remaining $22,000 is reflected in the proposed 2017 budget.

Fortunately, the town was able to cut back in other areas and realize cost savings from improving the energy efficiency of the Community Building. Setting aside money in various capital reserve funds over the years also has helped lessen the tax impact, Hoyt said.

“This is the second year that we have turned some significant new expenses into a tiny, tiny increase,” Hoyt said.

The town hopes to raise about $509,000 in taxes to support the budget, an increase of about 1.5 percent, or $7,500. That money accounts for both general fund and highway spending, as the Selectboard lumps the two together into one budget.

The tax rate hasn’t yet been set.

The current tax rate is 82 cents per $100 of assessed value, or $2,050 on a $250,000 home. Treasurer Joe MacPherson projected a “very modest increase” to the town tax rate.

In addition to voting on the budget and electing officers, voters also will act on two other articles by ballot. One will ask residents to “re-adopt” the current Town Plan while a new one is drafted. The other will ask residents to rescind an earlier vote on how its municipal plan is formally adopted, Hoyt said.

At the floor meeting on Saturday, March 4, voters will be asked to approve roughly $85,800 to be split among various organizations. About $24,100 of that will go to Upper Valley Ambulance, while $50,000 will go to the West Fairlee Volunteer Fire Department.

There are no contested races on the ballot.

Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.