Tunbridge’s Town School District Meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 5, at the Tunbridge Central School. Town Meeting will take place starting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 6, in the auditorium of the Tunbridge Central School.

Tunbridge — Voters in Tunbridge will be asked to approve a 2.2 percent spending increase during Town Meeting next month.

The Selectboard is requesting a general fund budget of $585,469 for 2018, which amounts to an increase of about $10,000 over the current $575,462 budget.

The warning also calls for a $831,060 highway budget, an increase of roughly $21,000 over the current spending plan.

“It’s pretty bland this year,” Selectboard Chairman Gary Mullen said of the budget. “We’ve been fortunate the past few years that things have gone our way.”

The planned increases are mainly caused by fixed costs, Mullen said, adding town services are expected to remain unchanged.

The budget does call for the installation of new windows in the town garage, according to the town report. Highway money also is expected to pay for roads damaged during last year’s flooding and other weather-related events.

The town is projected to collect about $955,500 in taxes to fund the budget, which is about $132,700 less than officials planned for the current budget. Fees and state grants are expected to make up the remaining funds.

The proposed budget also level-funds Tunbridge’s contribution to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The town annually provides $6,000 to the department, which allows for four hours a week of patrol coverage, according to sheriff’s officials, who request more money annually.

The payment helps cover the cost of police patrols and speeding enforcement in town, which also receives coverage from the Vermont State Police.

Town officials also are hoping to set aside surplus funds to restore a stone embankment behind the town office building. The wall is slowly failing and in dire need of repair, according to Selectboard members, who propose setting aside surplus funds for the project.

Residents also will be asked to elect one Selectboard member, one lister, one auditor and several other town positions from the floor during the meeting.

Although Tunbridge has an annual School District meeting scheduled for the evening of Monday, March 5, voters likely won’t see a school district budget until mid- or late April, according to Kathy Galluzzo, chairwoman of the Tunbridge School Board. That’s because the Tunbridge school district soon will be merging with neighboring Chelsea, creating the First Branch Unified School District.

The new school board is expected to be sworn in on March 1, Galluzzo said.

Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.