The Town Council has roughly cut in half the expected increases in taxes and spending next year even as several members have declared that the change should be closer to zero.

On Dec. 17, the council formally approved $307,660 in cuts from the budget it had discussed at a retreat the previous week, reducing the 2009 estimated tax rate from $3.97 to $3.88, an increase of 7.2 cents over 2008.

Town Manager Russ Marcoux had proposed a 2009 budget of $22 million, with an estimated tax rate of $3.97, which was 16 cents, or nearly 4 percent, more than in 2008. The council endorsed a series of minor cuts to get the estimated rate increase down more than 7 cents, according to Vice Chairman Bob Young.

The reductions, totaling about $307,660, include $81,696 for two new police positions and $43,762 for a new firefighter. Health insurance went down $22,258; wages and benefits for pool staff, $11,032; and salt $30,000. The town also found some new revenues, such as $19,914 more from a Highway Block Grant and $80,730 in a SAFER grant.

The changes mean that an owner of a $400,000 home would be paying $28.80 more in taxes, according to the council, or a total of $1,552 at the estimated $3.88 rate.

Councilor Bill Dermody has pleaded with his fellow councilors to consider eliminating deposits into its long-term savings accounts for vehicle purchases and other major expenses.

“We are saving for the future and I agree with that,” Dermody said at a Dec. 10 meeting. “We should do that when we can do that, but I believe this is a year that we ought to give some consideration to the taxpayers and not our piggybank or our capital reserves.”

Councilor Michael Scanlon opposed the move, saying it would heap more costs on future taxpayers.

“It’s a short-term fix that doesn’t fix anything,” Scanlon said at that meeting. “It just defers.”

After tentatively approving the slate of reductions Dec. 10, several other councilors called for even more. Councilors Normand Longval said he wanted to see the tax increase to be less than 2 percent, while Paul Roy said simply he thought the town should look for other areas where it could cut more. Young, however, warned that the town was coming to a point where it would have to start cutting its services.

Scanlon and councilor Chris Bandazian voted against the cuts on Dec. 17. Although there had been an apparent consensus on them at the previous meeting, Scanlon said he had rethought some of them. He said he was especially concerned about smaller deposits for long-term savings.

“You think about it after awhile and you think, ‘What are we doing?’” he said.

Scanlon said he did support the elimination of new positions in the fire and police departments. “Those are real cuts, if we don’t fund them this year, we don’t have to fund them next year if we don’t want to,” he said.