On Monday night, Selectmen discussed a preliminary budget for the coming fiscal year. While many departments will likely be level funded, line items such as trash pickup, the Highway Department and school budgets do see a bump.

The current year’s general operating fund is $23,361,000 and the current department requests total $24,318,000. The budget is still in the draft stage and must go in front of the Finance Committee. There are still contract negotiations pending that have not been calculated into the budget as well.

One proposed increase is approximately $14,000 for trash pickup. The increase accounts for several private housing developments whose original contracts with the town required residents to pay for their own pickup. That will no longer be the case, resulting in an increase in fees. There will also be an increase in the cost of trash per ton as a new contract with SEMASS goes into effect on Sept. 1. The current cost per ton is $26 but will increase to $59 for a total of $65,000 for the 2017 fiscal year.

With the significant increase, Selectman Jordan Collyer asked: “What can we do to increase our recycling and reduce our tonnage even more?”

Collyer also asked Town Administrator Mike Gagne to check the increases, which have gone from $55,000 in fiscal year 2015, to $110,000 this year, and a projected $175,000 next year.

Regarding the schools, the Mattapoisett budget has a $198,000 request, while the town’s assessment for the Old Rochester Regional budget is $285,000. Two additional students at Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School plus budget increases resulted in an additional $82,000.

Regarding ORR, Gagne proposed that the town begin setting aside funds for the retirement benefits liability. Called OPEB, short for other post employment benefits, the school carries a $13 million liability. The town already has a trust set aside to reduce its own OPEB liability, but despite pushing for it at ORR, Mattapoisett lost the battle this year with Rochester and Marion voting against the creation of a trust.

“We fought very hard that a comprehensive and complete budget [should] contribute a substantive amount to OPEB,” said Gagne.

He said the town can put money in its own OPEB trust for its contribution to the ORR liability, and suggested starting with $25,000 this year.

Other increases on the budget draft include $13,000 for part-time personnel and $10,000 for equipment repairs for the Highway Department.

The retirement fund is also likely to see an increase of about $81,000 as retirements are pending.

“I hate to say it but your workforce is getting older,” said Gagne.

Another proposed increase is one shellfishers will likely get behind. A total of $3,200 is proposed to purchase oyster seed and propagate it for Mattapoisett waters.The program was piloted two years ago, and several volunteers who helped with the program then have said they will help again.

Gagne also said the budget factors in a conservative $150,000 for growth and that the town should receive at least the same amount of aid from the state as it did last year.