LIVERMORE FALLS — Selectmen and Budget Committee members began budget review on Monday with several department heads explaining proposed budgets for 2011-12. The proposed preliminary budget draft is nearly $2.19 million.

It represents a $5,144 or 0.2 percent increase from the current budget. The amount does not include any money for capital improvements, which is still under discussion.

Among the challenges the town faces is higher fuel costs.

Department heads are budgeting for $4 a gallon compared to the $3 a gallon budgeted this year.

The elected official’s budget is proposed at $70,254, $6,677 less than the current budget.

Most of the decrease is proposed in the treasurer’s wages.

Current Treasurer Kristal Flagg is also the town manager now and will be the full-time manager in July. Flagg will still have one year left on her town clerk/treasurer’s term on July 1 and officials plan to hire from within town office to fill that position but at a lesser wage.

The administration account is also down. It is proposed at $161,139, $7,853 less than the existing budget.

The Police and Public Works departments budgets both include 2 percent increases in wages.

The Police Department budget is proposed at $384,096, Chief Ernest Steward Jr. said. It reflects a $5,048 increase over the existing budget. The budget calls for the elimination of the administrative assistant position, except for eight hours a week. The plan is to move the assistant up to the town office to cover for a position up there, Steward said.

There will be an opening in the town office once Flagg shifts to town manager and Sue Sapiel, the sewer clerk, shifts to treasurer as initially discussed.

Steward said he put back in uniform allowances for part-time officers at $200 each. Last year, reserve officers agreed to buy their own uniforms to help keep the force intact.

The Fire Department budget is proposed at $88,611, $906 more than the current budget. There is an additional $2,000 sought for wages for officers.

Fire Chief Gerry Pineau said hourly on-call firefighters were given an hourly increase this year.

The Public Works budget is proposed at $336,775, which is $3,250 less than the current budget.

The municipal solid waste budget is proposed at $151,685, which is down $8,726 from this year.

The code enforcement officer’s budget is up $4,520 to $13,860 due to the need for five more hours a week compared to 10 hours this year. The increase is due to training required and for new state requirements, Code Enforcement Officer James Butler Jr. said.

dperry@sunjournal.com