PARIS — The Oxford County Budget Committee has recommended funding for next year that reflects the commissioners’ proposal, which would see the tax rate rise nearly 3 cents.

The proposal for 2015 asks residents to raise $146,403 more than last year — about 2.73 percent more — from about $5.2 million to $5.4 million.

Total expenditures are up 6.7 percent to $6.5 million, while revenues, such as grants and Oxford Casino’s pay-in to the county, are also on the rise by about 7 percent to $2.39 million. 

If passed, the budget would fully fund current programming and add two new positions. 

The county tax represents the smallest of the three claimants on residents’ property tax bills. The other two are municipal and school spending.

Budget Committee members left intact a proposal by the commissioners to slash capital expenditures by the departments. Under the new proposal, repair work to various buildings in the county would be reduced by almost $171,000, stalling plans to repair bricks at the county courthouse in Paris and replacing the floors at the Registry of Deeds in Fryeburg. 

A plan to replace the staircase leading from the lower parking lot along 26 Western Ave. in Paris, which serves the courthouse and other county administration buildings, remains untouched. 

Wages for some nonunion employees will increase by 2 percent.

A plan to add a staff member in the county administrator’s office was also met with approval. Tallying salary and benefits, the new administrative role is projected to cost up to $60,000, $45,000 of which will be covered by taxpayers in the unorganized territories. 

The budget proposed by commissioners and the Budget Committee is nearly $258,000 less than what department heads requested. Commissioners included an additional $81,411 in revenue not included in an initial draft of the budget and cut $177,282 from spending requests.

Altogether, the shift from the original budget to the one being proposed means about a 2-cent reduction in taxpayers’ bills. 

The budget could be passed by commissioners as early as Nov. 19.