The town budget this year might be good news for people down on their economic luck.

The total spending for 2009 would be $21.8 million, a decrease of about $118,000. The Board of Selectmen was presented the budget on Monday, Sept. 8. In interviews, selectmen were optimistic they could hold the line on budget increases, protecting homeowners from higher tax bills during economic hard times.

“I think the department heads are realizing the economy is on the downswing,” said Selectman Vivian Blondeau. “I think they’re trying to be as frugal as possible.”

The three largest departments within the operating budget are: Public Works, $4.8 million; police, $4.1 million; and fire, $2.3 million. Public Works is about $456,000 over what it had in 2008, police is $314,000 more, and fire is up $140,000.

Overall spending is still slightly less than what was proposed in 2008, because the ballot that year included a $2.5 million bond for municipal water in the Lynchville and Danis parks neighborhoods, as well as a few other one-time expenses.

The heads of the three departments said one of the reasons for their higher budgets was energy. Police Chief Pat Sullivan said his fuel costs had doubled for 2009. Heating oil costs likewise will be two times what they were this year for the Fire Department, according to Chief Rich O’Brien.

Salaries and benefits for staff also drive the Fire Department budget up due to the new contract voters approved in 2008 and the two new firefighters hired the same year, according to O’Brien. A five-year federal grant is helping the town pay for those firefighters. In the second year, the grant is chipping in $72,000 total, leaving the town with the remaining $60,000.

Another cost is a new set of hydraulic cutters for the Jaws of Life, which cannot slice through the latest Subarus on the market, O’Brien said. The cutters are about $10,000, but if the department can get a federal highway safety grant, it could cut the cost in half and afford to buy two sets, according to the chief.

In the Police Department, Sullivan is asking for one more position: an eighth dispatcher. He said he is on the verge of overspending his yearly allocation for overtime expenses, simply because he does not have enough people to cover all shifts. By the end of July, dispatch overtime was at $25,000 and the town had set aside $26,000 for that purpose, according to Sullivan.

The Police Department is also having a problem with water coming through the floor in its dispatch center. The department is not sure what the cause is. Sullivan said a new floor will be about $10,000. There is an additional cost to moving the radios, consoles that hold them and other equipment out of the dispatch center.

Like fire and police, director Carl Quiram said the Public Works Department is facing higher costs for energy as well as materials, resulting in the following increases: $90,000 for fuel, $20,000 for paving and at least $64,000 for salt. For equipment, Quiram wants to replace some survey equipment, estimated at $50,000.

The Board of Selectmen will spend the next few weeks going over the proposed department budgets with the budget committee. Each Monday this month, one or more departments will be reviewed.

This week, the board heard a presentation on the Fire Department budget. Next week will be the Police Department. Following that will be the library, Parks and Recreation, sewer and Public Works.

Selectman Scott Gross said the board is especially sensitive to the effect the economy is having on taxpayers. He said the board is aiming to strike a very delicate balance between controlling costs and providing essential services to the public.

“We’re going to do the same due diligence as we always do,” Gross said.

In October, selectmen will decide what to keep or cut, delivering their version of the budget to the budget committee. The budget number that committee approves will appear before voters at a public hearing, usually in the January, followed by a deliberative session, when voters decide what will appear on the March ballot, when the public has its final say.