Town Administrator Derek Sullivan proposed a solution to annual budget building sessions between school and town officials he likened to “dogs fighting over scraps.”

On Tuesday, Sullivan told Selectmen that a revenue sharing agreement will be discussed at a meeting between the School Committee, Finance Committee and Selectmen set for 7 p.m. at Wareham Middle School on Dec. 7.

“I think it’s going to be important because last year was a good year and there were still fights over the budget,” said Sullivan.

The agreement’s details haven’t been worked out yet, Sullivan said. Essentially, town officials and school officials must agree on a formula that sets how funds from municipal revenue are allocated between the two entities each year.

Currently, the School Department approaches the town with its budget request. Often the request is higher than the town can afford and a round of negotiations whittles that initial figure down.

Sullivan said a revenue sharing agreement should streamline the process.

“It’s saying at the end of day, based on ‘x expenses’ and ‘y revenues,’ this is what we need to split,” said Sullivan. “It doesn’t matter what we need or what we want…it’s what we have available.”

Similar agreements are in place at other cities and towns in the state, Sullivan said, adding they have been recognized as a best practice by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.

Adopting the policy should remove some of the guesswork from the budget process, Sullivan said.

“I understand our departments do a lot of hard work in putting the budgets together,” said Sullivan. “The reality is there’s only so much money to go around.”

Sullivan informed Selectmen about the proposal during his weekly report before the board.