A $1.5 million road plan, 24/7 fire coverage, elderly tax relief and conservation initiatives are among the issues local voters will face at town voting on Tuesday, March 13.

Voters will also choose candidates to fill two vacant seats on the board of selectmen, including one left open by current chairman Barbara Griffin.

The town road plan may be one of the most controversial issues in this year’s voting. The plan appears on articles 15 and 16 on the ballot. The first seeks an appropriation of $1.5 million, down from the original article’s $2.07 million request. Selectmen took $600,000 out of the road plan at the last minute to comply with a budget committee recommendation prior to the deliberative session of Town Meeting in February.

“The basic premise of the road program is that it is more cost efficient to maintain roads than to rebuild roads. Therefore, the program’s goal is to rebuild roads that are below the acceptable level and then maintain roads at the acceptable level to reduce costly maintenance of roads,” according to the town voting guide.

Article 16 seeks to make the road plan a part of the operating budget after appearing as a special article for the past six years.

While proponents have argued the move would protect the road plan from rejection as a special article, critics have said the item could produce a significant spike in the town’s operating budget.

The town’s operating budget appears on the town warrant as $16,789,463.

This number includes $20,935 for painting the front of the Grasmere Town Hall.

Selectmen and budget committee members could not reach a consensus on that item prior to the deliberative session, Selectman John Caprio said.

Another article seeks to establish a Grasmere Town Hall Restoration Capital Reserve Fund, with an initial appropriation of $100,000. An article for that purpose and dollar amount failed in voting last year.

A warrant article seeking expanded tax relief for the elderly sparked debate at the deliberative session of Town Meeting and at several selectmen’s meetings beforehand.

Appearing as Article 20 on the ballot, the elderly tax exemption proposal would raise the income and assets residents can have and still qualify for property tax breaks.

The article would also increase the dollar value of property exemptions granted to elderly homeowners.

A plan to establish 24/7 fire service in town appears as Article 21 on the ballot. This item requests $295,438 to hire 10 new full-time firefighters from July 1 through the end of the year. The new employees would combine with current staffing to provide around-the-clock coverage at one station throughout the week.

The plan results from the work of a 24/7 fire/EMS study committee formed in response to a 2005 warrant article instructing selectmen “to prepare and present a plan proposing 24- hour fire and EMS staffing of at least one fire station seven days a week.”

The town voting guide places the annualized cost of employing 10 new firefighters at $557,335.

Two articles at the end of the ballot look to enhance the town’s purchasing power for conservation purposes.

Article 29 asks to double the amount of money collected through the land use change tax from the current 50 percent to a full 100 percent.

Selectmen candidates at a recent forum split evenly on this issue. While candidates Bill Gordon and Tricia Wynne said they favored the conservation efforts, Scott Gross and Vivian Blondeau both said the article’s projected $95,700 impact would affect the town’s revenue stream.

All candidates supported the following article, which requests $245,000 for the purpose of acquiring land conservation easements.

Blondeau, Gordon, Wynne, Gross and incumbent selectman Bruce Hunter are all vying for two open three-year seats.

School district voting A $33.26 million operating budget stands as the major item on the school district ballot this year. District officials say the budget included increases in health insurance, retirement costs and special education expenses.

Four special warrant articles also appear on this year’s ballot.

One article requests that $300,000 be added to a capital reserve fund established during the 2005-06 school year for renovations to Bartlett School.

That money will come from unreserved fund balances and will have no impact to the tax rate, according to the school district’s warrant article guide.

A new contract with the Goffstown Educational Support Staff Association boosts salaries throughout the agreement’s four-year term, with 1 percent increases in each of its first two years and 1.5 and 1.25 percent increases in its final years.

The Goffstown Teachers Association five-year contract is also up for a vote this year. That agreement includes a 2.25 percent raise in salary each year, which combined with benefits totals $671,670 in new spending this year.

Passage of the school operating budget and all four special warrant articles would cause the school portion of the tax rate to rise by 39 cents using Gov. John Lynch’s current proposal for state aid, according to school board member Scott Gross.

This would put next year’s school portion of the tax rate at $12.74 per $1,000 of assessed value, up from its current $12.35.

Voting on all school and town items is scheduled from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Goffstown High School and Bartlett Elementary School on Tuesday, March 13.