Two budgets will come before Town Meeting next week: a balanced balanced budget that would lay off roughly 45 town employees and 34 school employees and make continued cuts to services across the board, and a "contingency" budget that would include $4.5 million from a Proposition 2 1/2 override. Even the "override" budget includes cuts to many departments from 2014 spending levels.

"In the simplest of terms, you will decide the path we take over the next five years," said Larry McDonald, chairman of the Finance Committee.

Town officials must specify where the override money will be spent for 2015, but in the years beyond that they are not legally allowed to say where the money will go. Town officials in Wareham, however, have made a five-year plan and are committed to a detailed spending proposal for the override money.

The increase in revenue is rolled into the general fund and becomes part of the following year's tax base, which is where the 2.5 percent annual growth is derived from. Residents don't pay the same override bill every year in perpetuity.

Included in the override budget, but not in the balanced budget are the following:

- $1.1 million in town and school capital improvements.

- $475,00 for six new police recruits (which includes salaries, benefits and expenses). The balanced budget provides for no new hires, and the police department will be losing one lieutenant and one patrolman regardless of which budget is passed.

"We’re down six people and probably a seventh on the way who is probably going to be hired by the FBI,” interim Police Chief Kevin Walsh said at a January department head meeting.

- An additional $277,000 for the library, to meet the certification requirements set by the state Board of Library Commissioners. The balanced budget allocates $125,000 for the library, which would likely result in a loss of certification and a dramatic loss in services. Last year's library funding was $295,000, the year before that it was $423,000 and was as high as $699,109 back in 2007.

- $98,000 for a school and town shared human resources director.

"An HR director will usually save you money," Sullivan said at a joint meeting last month. "Having what is essentially a company with a $60 million budget without an HR director is crazy."

- $100,000 in funding for the Council on Aging. The past two years the Council on Aging has received $82,000 in funding from the Town. The balanced budget provides no town funding for the Council on Aging.

- A restoration of the last round of cuts made by the school, which amounts to $365,000 in salaries and $50,000 in other expenditures. According to Wareham School District Business Manager Michael MacMillan, if the override were to be approved, it would equal approximately 12 fewer faculty cuts than the roughly 34 positions that would be lost in the balanced budget.

- $402,000 for four additional math and reading specialists for first through third grade (including salaries and benefits)

- $200,000 for improved technology infrastructure for the schools.

- $100,000 to convert the Multi-Service Center to accommodate the West Academy and Co-op schools, which according to town officials could save $205,000 over the next five years.

- $150,000 for additional maintenance staff (including salaries and benefits). The Municipal Maintenance Department is funded at $1.2 million for 2015 in both budgets, even with 2014 funding but $350,000 less that 2013. The department has lost dozens of employees throughout the years, going from 54 workers to nine in a matter of decades.

- $500,000 to go toward a Stabilization fund, a "rainy day" fund municipalities can use for unforeseen needs and capital projects.

- An additional $585,000 to different school police and town programs.

Town Administrator Derek Sullivan said the owner of a home assessed at Wareham's average of $230,264 would pay increased taxes $329.34 per year -less than a dollar a day- if the override passes. A homeowner assessed at $500,000 would pay roughly $715, a $100,000 home would see a $143 bill.

He said residents can get the assessed value of their home on the town website, take that number, divide it by 1,000 and multiply that by $1.43 to find each individual's override cost.

"At some point it was need versus want, now we're at need versus need. Now we're saying we need both of these what do we cut?" said McDonald. "We need to quit being reactive. We need to be proactive."

Town officials estimate that between fiscal years 2016 and 2019 the overtime reduction due to police hirings, energy efficiency savings from capital improvements and the consolidation of West Academy and the Co-op school could result in $1.6 million.

"Employee benefits expenditures grow $4 million or 32.9 percent through 2019. This is an extremely critical area that will require considerable effort to address the impact on future budgets," wrote the Finance Committee in their statement to Town Meeting voters.

At Tuesday's Selectmen meeting Sullivan announced he recently met with the insurance advisory committee from the unions and is looking to outside groups for health insurance.

"This is a step to get us out of being self funded and potentially saving the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars per year," he said.

Selectman Alan Slavin said even if an override were to pass, the town still needs to change how it operates and continue to look at ways to cut costs, look at opportunities for regionalization and consolidate services to save the town money

Voters will be able to discuss the budgets and the five-year spending proposals at the April 24 pre-town meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Multi-Service Center as well as at the actual Town Meeting on April 28 at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium.