FARMINGTON — Residents voted Tuesday night to approve spending up to $15,000 to fix a failed sewer drain at the Municipal Building, Town Manager Richard Davis said Wednesday.

The money will come from the town’s undesignated fund balance, which was $1.75 million on Dec. 31, 2012.

The connecting line from the Municipal Building to the sewer main frequently plugs, resulting in sewage backing up into the basement of the building, Davis previously said.

Workers from the Ted Berry Company Inc. of Livermore had previously put a camera through the line from the parking lot to the street. At 70 feet, they found an obstruction of roots, he said. Once cleaned out, they discovered that a section of the line is broken and needs to be replaced and lined in order to seal the joints.

Estimates for the work are just under $14,000. A small contingency is built into the request for an appropriation.

A quote from the company to install the liner is $4,975 and a quote for excavation work by E.L. Vining and Son, Inc. is $8,207 with an additional $650 quote for a pavement patch to cover the excavated hole afterward.

Also Tuesday, voters approved a change in the Town of Farmington Board of Appeals Ordinance to allow the code enforcement officer, rather than the Board of Appeals, to grant a variance to make a dwelling accessible to a person with a physical or mental handicap, Davis said.

A recent change in state laws allows municipalities to consider the change, he said.

dperry@sunjournal.com