The Board of Selectmen decided Tuesday to split $1.4 million in state "stimulus" money evenly between the Parkwood and Cromesett/Oakdale sewer projects.

In the process, they set the "betterment fee" for Parkwood property owners (Parkwood Beach, Tempest Knob, Linwood and Ladd avenues) at $15,010 -- and made it likely that Cromesett/Oakdale property owners will each be assessed more than $22,000 when that project is completed next year.

Betterment fees, assessed to each property owner in a newly sewered area, may be paid over a 20-year period. They are set based on the total cost of an individual sewer extension, divided by the number of properties with new-found access to the sewer system.

In this case, the fee-setting process was complicated by the town's receipt of stimulus money with discretion as to how to allocate it between the two projects.

And it was made more controversial by the fact that, with or without stimulus money, the Cromesett/Oakdale project was going to have higher betterment fees because the cost will be split among approximately 260 property owners rather than Parkwood's approximately 440.

John Sanguinet presented the board with five possible scenarios for dividing the stimulus funds, one of which was the “50/50” plan that was ultimately chosen.

“I’ve lost some sleep over this,” said Selectman Cara Winslow, who lamented the economic impact of the fees on working class families.

“My recommendation was to split it down the middle,” said Selectman Brenda Eckstrom. She acknowledged Winslow’s concerns, noting “This is an innately unfair system.”

Selectman Chair Jane Donahue, a Parkwood property owner, recused herself from the betterment fee discussion and votes.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has mandated extension of the sewer system in order to protect Wareham’s groundwater and Buzzards Bay from nitrogen and other pollution.

Setting the interest fee was also a contentious issue, with Winslow protesting raising the fee from 2%. Selectman Steve Holmes countered that it would not be an economically sound decision to charge property owners only the 2% that that town itself is paying to borrow money for the sewer project.

“You can’t take money out and give it out at the same rate,” he said. “You have to have a cushion for the town…This is a business.”

Holmes also pointed out that, while the board is legally prohibited from increasing the interest rate at which the money is paid back, it may choose to decrease the rate at a later date.

The Selectmen voted 3-1, with Winslow the only opposing vote, to set the interest rate at 2.5%, which translates to $3.75 per year per property owner.

Eckstrom encouraged residents who must hook up to the sewer system to take advantage of available tax credits. Some residents may be entitled to $1,500 over four years to offset the cost of the betterment fees.

In other business:

Town Administrator Mark Andrews laid out the proposed budget for fiscal year 2012. He noted that 2012’s revenues are projected to be 2% below 2011 revenue, while expenditures are expected to be 3% above 2011 amounts.

Among anticipated expenditures are $305,000 for an ambulance and cardiac defibrillators and $180,000 in Town Hall renovations.

Laurie Cavanaugh was approved as the new Head of Reference at Wareham Free Library. Cavanaugh worked at the Brockton Public Library for seven years. Andrews noted that she has a lot of experience working with young people.