North Stonington — Residents will get a chance to hear a second go-around for the town, school and capital budgets from members of the Board of Finance during a town meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the multipurpose room of the elementary school.

Notably, the ballot for the second referendum on the budget will ask residents to approve the town's capital budget separately, and asks nonbinding questions about whether budgets for the town government, school and capital projects are too high or too low.

The decision is the latest development in a dispute between selectmen and members of the Board of Finance over budget cuts approved at the end of June that took $90,000 out of the highway department spending plan.

The dispute came to a head Aug. 9, when members of the Board of Finance walked out of a hearing on the budget called by the selectmen, questioning the selectmen's authority to call the hearing.

First Selectman Shawn Murphy, who recommended the different ballot format, said he will ask the public to vote against the town's budget at the town meeting, in the hopes that a subsequent budget proposal would move $100,000 — set aside for future payments on the Center for Emergency Services building —  to pay for highway department operating expenses.

However, finance board members have said that when the town approved money for the Center for Emergency Services in 2013, residents were told the town's capital payments — and impact on taxes — would stay consistent after debt on a previous school building project was paid off.

Chairman Tim Main II added that this suggestion wasn't made during discussions in June after the town rejected both school and town budgets.

"I'd like to get out there this budget has consequences: It's not part of the normal process to change it at this point," Murphy said.

He has said the cuts will cause the town to put off maintenance on about a mile of several town roads, delay drainage, pipe and culvert projects across town and close the transfer station on Saturdays.

He pointed out that the overtime budget is less than what the town has paid on average for the past two years of snowplowing.

The budget now stands at $18.8 million after the combined $340,000 in cuts, with the Board of Education budget rising 0.91 percent and the town budget 0.19 percent.

The mill rate already has been set at 27 mills, a 0.9 increase from the previous year, reflecting declines in the town's grand list.

The average taxpayer will see no tax bill increase.

Main said the finance board will explain its analysis that led to the cuts, approved June 29 and based on a look at the town's spending in the last fiscal year until the end of May.

The referendum will follow two weeks later on Sept. 20.

Following the town meeting, applications for absentee ballots will be available at the Town Hall.

n.lynch@theday.com