SALEM – A $7.1 million plan for a new police station in Salem will be on the ballot after voters debated the plan’s merits at Salem’s first deliberative session.

More than an hour of the two-and-a-half-hour meeting on Saturday, Feb. 9, was spent on explaining the details of the new station and on comments from several of the approximately 80 people who attended.

Several voters spoke in favor of the new building, which, if passed, will be built behind the current station and be 26,000 square feet, with the capability to be expanded into a second floor when needed in the future. The present station is to be razed when the new one is complete.

Budget Committee member Stephen Campbell, however, said the price tag is just too high for taxpayers this year.

“Too many officials feel we’re made of money,” he said, pointing out that if all items on the town side pass, taxpayers will see an 8 percent increase in taxes next year.

Add in the school warrants, which would increase the tax rate 9.5 percent if all pass, and the renovations to the high school that school officials will be asking for next year, and it’s too much of a financial burden, especially for those on a fixed income in a town where the over-55 population is increasing, Campbell said.

Officials said the police station would add 12 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation to the tax rate. The average homeowner would pay $42 a year or $21 per tax bill. But Selectman Pat Hargreaves said it’s time to build a new station.

“I will vote for the police station and not for the school plan,” he said. “I’ll go on record right now.”

Selectmen were unsuccessful in restoring $50,000 to the operating budget for studies they want to do to extend the use of Arlington Pond water in case of drought.

The town gets 45 percent of its water from Arlington Pond and 55 percent from Canobie Lake in any given year, officials said. And though the levels at the lake have been fine for the past nine out of 10 years, selectmen want to prepare for drought-year transfers of water in a move they say will provide long-range water stability to the town.

“If we drop the project, it would be extremely shortsighted,” said Selectman Michael Lyons.

Peter Rayno, a former Budget Committee member and candidate this year, spoke against the proposed amendment.

“This year, to ask for any restoration money is excessive and unreasonable,” he said. The amendment to restore the money was defeated 43-38, and the $32.2 million operating budget was moved to the ballot unchanged.

Article 17, which asks for $101,366 to fund the police employees union contract increases, was reduced by $47 dollars due to a clerical error, and Article 19 was moved to the ballot after being reduced by $1,378 to $48,714 for increases for professional employees of the town.

Three other articles for negotiated increases, $121,376 for the fire employees union, $43,614 for administration employees and $48,851 for public works employees were unchanged. The town will vote on these articles, for zoning articles and for candidates for office on Tuesday, March 11, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., at Salem Town Hall and at Fisk, Soule, Barron, Lancaster and North Salem schools.

If the operating budget is rejected by voters, it will be taken up at the second deliberative session on Saturday, March 15, at 9 a.m., at Salem High School.

At least 19 other warrants, including those for road improvements and a request for four new firefighters, will also be voted on at that meeting.