East Lyme — The Board of Finance will send an the town’s 2015-16 budget of $67.2 million, a 3.27 percent increase over the current year’s spending plan, to a public hearing later this month, after Wednesday reducing proposed budgets that had been adopted by the selectmen and school board.

During deliberations Wednesday night, the board — in a 5-1 vote — removed $450,000 in increases from the budget adopted earlier by the Board of Education. The school budget for 2015-16 now stands at $44 million, 2.9 percent more than this year’s.

The board also voted 5 to 1 to remove $150,000 in increased spending from the general government budget adopted by the selectmen, resulting in a proposed general government budget of $16.7 million, a roughly 3.4 percent increase.

The board also trimmed the proposed capital budget by $71,800, leaving a $1,219,196 bottom line, about 12 percent more than this year. Debt service remains at $5.32 million, 4.2 percent more than this year’s total.

Chairman Stephen Harney said that rather than open each department budget for review as in years past, the board is acknowledging that the first selectman and town department heads have more knowledge of individual departments than the board does. The board offered its rationale for its reductions but did not order specific cuts to items.

During deliberations, all board members favored some cuts to the proposed budget increases, but they differed on how much should be trimmed before reaching a compromise.

Board member Camille Alberti stressed the need to keep increases to a minimum and presented the board with newspaper articles and statistics showing that southeastern Connecticut has yet not rebounded from the recession.

Harney said he was considering factors such as median home prices, increases in water and sewer rates, the school district’s declining enrollment, and a looming major project to renovate the elementary schools.

“I think all of us are trying to understand the community in its entirety and that we’re in challenging times,” Harney said.

Beth Hogan, who cast the opposing votes, had proposed smaller reductions to the school budget that would still give the board some flexibility in implementing its plans. She also recommended that administrators attend a Board of Finance meeting quarterly to increase communication between the board and the school district.

Several members suggested the school board consider temporarily redistricting students, beginning in the fall, from one elementary school — Niantic Center School — to the two other schools as a cost-saving measure until the community completes its multiyear project to consolidate its elementary schools.

When a similar suggestion was made last year, former Superintendent of Schools James Lombardo and school board members said that the option would not be appropriate for the district.

Finance board members said they are offering suggestions, but can only set the bottom line for the school budget. The Board of Education decides how to allocate those funds.

Finance board members also recommended that $190,000 from a program that begins next year to bring up to 10 Chinese students to East Lyme High School — a net of $150,000 when accounting for the costs to educate those students — should be counted in the years going forward as tuition, rather than special revenue for the Board of Education. The board is proposing to use those funds next year to offset the costs of the reinstatement of a global language program.

First Selectman Mark Nickerson and the finance board will discuss specific recommendations to achieve the reductions to the proposed general government budget at a 6:30 p.m. special meeting Monday at Town Hall.

The public hearing on the budget is slated for 7 p.m. April 20 in the auditorium of East Lyme High School. The hearing will be followed by a special meeting in which the board may make changes to the budget. A budget referendum will be held later in the spring.

k.drelich@theday.com

Twitter: @KimberlyDrelich