Ballot voting for Hartford will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7, at the Hartford High School gym.

Hartford — In addition to voting on town and school budgets, residents will be asked to weigh in on a pair of bonds that would finance infrastructure improvements in downtown White River Junction and the repair of the high school parking lot.

The proposed $15.3 million town budget for fiscal year 2018 is lower than the current year’s $16.4 million budget, but the apparent reduction is the result of a change in accounting procedures.

The budget, which would leave the tax rate unchanged, received the Selectboard’s endorsement on a 6-1 vote, with Dennis Brown opposed. Brown said he felt the budget didn’t save enough for the future.

The town-proposed $1.9 million bond is also tax neutral, drawing on funds from the downtown White River Junction tax increment financing district, which captures tax revenues for the purpose of infrastructure improvements. In this case, the money would be spent on a handful of projects that would repair sidewalks, a sagging retaining wall on South Main Street and water, stormwater and sewer systems.

The town’s residential tax rate is about 95 cents per $100 of assessed property value, or $2,366 on a home valued at $250,000.

The $37.4 million proposed school district budget is up by $1.6 million from last year’s $35.8 million.

The School Board approved sending the budget proposal to voters on a 4-1 vote, with Paula Nulty opposed. Nulty said she felt the district had not adequately demonstrated that existing funds were spent efficiently enough.

Under the budget, the district’s general fund, which comes from tax revenues and excludes fee-supported entities such as the Hartford Area Career and Technical Center, would increase from $27.76 million to $28.76 million, or 3.6 percent.

Once state-funding formulas are applied, the actual impact on the school’s portion of the property tax rate, currently $1.52 per $100 — $3,800 on a property valued at $250,000 — is estimated to be a 2.8 percent increase, which amounts to $107 on a home of that appraisal.

Income-sensitive households, defined as making less than $97,000, could see their rate decrease from 3.05 percent of their income to 2.66 percent. So, a household with a combined income of $50,000 would see a decrease of $195, to $1,330.

The School Board is also proposing a $1.46 million bond to voters to repair the parking lot surrounding Hartford High School, Hartford Memorial Middle School and the career center.

On Monday, the town will host a Budgets and Candidates Night, followed by Community Day on March 4, and ballot voting on Tuesday, March 7.

Matt Hongoltz-Hetling can be reached at mhonghet@vnews.com or 603-727-3211