The town will now be operating with a reduced budget, after selectmen decided what items to cut, as mandated by voters at the May Town Meeting.

The most noticeable cut in service will come at the transfer station, which was closed as of Saturday, June 28, saving the town about $96,000.

One cut that did not pass was a motion by Selectman Tom Keane, who proposed cutting the Bow Police Department by two full-time members.

Keane did not receive a second to his motion, and he changed the motion to propose a cut of one full-time position. The motion was defeated 3-2.

In total, the cuts will reach about $481,000 after voters chose to cut the operating budget for the second consecutive year, with some cuts made to cover increasing costs for fuel and road salt.

The cuts were completed at a Thursday, June 26, selectmen’s meeting after several weeks of discussion. At the previous meeting, the selectmen found all of the areas to make cuts, except about $31,000.

Following that meeting, Town Manager Jim Pitts met with department heads to arrive at the final amount. The cuts went into effect as of July 1.

“It certainly wasn’t easy. It was more difficult than last year,” said Pitts. “We already had last year’s cuts and now we’re looking at the impact of two years in a row.”

Selectmen Chairman Leon Kenison said the decision where to make cuts was not an easy one.

“I think the time it took us and the length of the discussions we had are indicative of how tough it is to reduce a budget,” said Kenison. “There’s no question, with the rising energy costs and other associated costs beyond our control, we are cutting back. That means reduced service levels.”

There were 22 items on the list of cuts, including a police cruiser, street sweeping, road paving and overtime.

Residents who had used the transfer station will be able to go to Concord’s station, where they will face slightly higher charges.

“Not everybody used the transfer station. The service is still available, but they’ll have to travel to the Concord Station,” said Pitts. “The fees will be higher, but if we hadn’t closed it we would have raised those fees to about that anyway.”

Kenison said if officials are forced to make cuts next year, jobs will likely be reduced.

“If we were undertake this again next year, there would be departments affected. I can’t see how we could do it without reducing some people,” said Kenison. “That would also mean further cuts in services and programs.”