Stonington — The Board of Finance approved the proposed 2015-16 town budget of $60.2 million and its 0.89 mill tax rate increase on Wednesday night.

The budget, which has a 4.2 percent increase compared to the current budget, will now go to a May 12 referendum vote. The tax rate would increase to 21.32 mills.

After the vote, board member June Strunk called the proposal a good budget and noted that it calls for hiring a director of planning, establishing an economic development office, adding a police officer next January and replacing some police cruisers and highway department trucks.

“We’ve done our best to make sure Stonington remains a desirable place to live,” she said.

The board made a series of minor adjustments to the budget before agreeing to send it to a vote.

Members increased the school budget by $38,211 so it now shows a 3 percent increase. The board previously had cut the proposed $1.8 million school budget increase by $800,000.

About a dozen speakers at Tuesday’s public hearing on the proposal had urged the finance board to increase the town’s allocation to the Stonington Community Center, praising the contributions it makes to the community. The proposed budget calls for increasing the current $40,501 allocation by $1,499. The COMO has requested a $10,000 increase.

But board member Dudley Wheeler pointed out the capital improvement portion of the budget calls for giving the COMO another $10,070 to replace tile flooring, which means it actually will receive $1,570 more than it requested. The rest of the board agreed and did not increase the COMO allocation any further.

j.wojtas@theday.com

Twitter: @joewojtas