What decisions are being made at Falmouth Town Meeting Monday night? Here's the breakdown.

Falmouth town meeting members have a packed lineup of decisions to attend to when they convene for their spring meeting April 10.

Among them: whether or not to advance a $950,000 general override to the May town election; removing the police and fire department from Civil Service; and deciding if the body should take the driver's seat on giving offshore wind developers access to town land.

The annual meeting is set to begin at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Auditorium at the Lawrence School, 113 Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth.

There are 43 items coming up for deliberation. Here are some of the highlights.

Falmouth's proposed $153.6 million operating budget is an increase over the current year's budget.

One of the first orders of business for town meeting members will be to take up the town's fiscal year 2024 operating budget. The Finance Committee's recommended $153.6 million plan represents an increase of about $6.95 million over the current year's budget.

In his fiscal '24 budget message, interim Town Manager Peter Johnson-Staub said the budget "represents a plan to maintain existing service levels and to make targeted investments" in keeping with select board priorities.

He said the town's financial status is strong, but faces "significant challenges" to maintaining service levels because of inflation and a shortage of qualified people to fill town positions. In some cases, there are larger than usual increases for several department accounts and budgets, though they are offset by increased revenue estimates.

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A police vehicle and body camera system is in the budget.

Among these increases is a plan to start a police vehicle camera and body camera video system, at a cost of $75,000 for the first year.

"This amount will be sufficient to equip all patrol vehicles and to equip all officers on shift with a body camera," Johnson-Staub wrote. "At this amount, there will not be a dedicated camera for each officer. The cameras will be transferred from one officer to another at the change in shift."

A $950,000 general override will fund 14 additional firefighters.

A $950,000 general override to fund 14 additional firefighters is up for a vote, too. Its purpose is to ensure staffing for all of the town's soon-to-be six fire facilities, once the Hatchville station comes online next year. According to Johnson-Staub, a 24-month hiring timeline requires planning to begin during the new fiscal year.

If supported at town meeting, the override will require approval at the May 16 town election before for final approval.

Approval would add about 6 cents to the tax rate, resulting in an estimated increase of $45.71 to the average single-family property tax bill. The average single-family property in Falmouth has an assessed value of $761,884. More information can be found at https://www.falmouthma.gov/472.

Rescinding a 1936 law would remove police and fire from Civil Service.

The town is looking to rescind its 1936 adoption of the state Civil Service system. This would effectively remove both the police and fire departments from the service. Previous town meetings, in 2021 and 2022, petitioned the state Legislature to accomplish this, but to date, that body has not taken action.

According to the town meeting article explanations printed in the warrant, rescinding the 1936 law does the same thing in a different manner.

Noting that the Civil Service system causes delays in hiring, the reason for the action is so that the town can "enjoy increased flexibility and responsiveness in its hiring and promotion practices."

This article would give town meeting a say about offshore wind access to town land.

A petition article looks to hand over authority to town meeting members to give offshore wind developers access to town property to conduct certain testing for landing power cables. Presently, only the select board or departments designated by the board, can grant right of entry.

The article is advisory only, and the select board has recommended indefinite postponement.

A handful of school building repairs, including a roof evaluation, are under consideration.

There are two items related to school maintenance.

One seeks $250,000 to repair the elevator at the Lawrence School and to replace the fire alarm at the Morse Pond School. According to the town, the elevator has needed frequent maintenance and now needs significant repairs, to the tune of $160,000. The Morse Pond fire alarm ($90,000), meanwhile, is more than 30 years old and needs constant maintenance. The Falmouth Fire Department has determined it can no longer be repaired and must be replaced soon.

Town meeting will also consider spending $240,000 to pay for a professional evaluation of needed roof replacements at the East Falmouth Elementary School, North Falmouth Elementary School, and Morse Pond School.

The evaluation would include cost estimates so funds for the construction of one or more of the roof projects can be sought at the fall town meeting, according to the town. Any unused balance will be applied to construction costs.

Several items are related to wastewater management and sewer projects.

First up is a $9.5 million ask to upgrade the town's main wastewater treatment plant on Blacksmith Shop Road to take care of flow from the planned Teaticket-Acapesket sewer area and additional flow from existing sewer areas, according to the town.

This amount would be to supplement $24 million approved last year. Inflation and supply chain issues resulted in the higher cost, which is proposed to be funded with $900,000 in unspent balances from previous projects and borrowing. The borrowing would be offset in part with $1.33 million in American Rescue Plan funds from the county.

Another $4.5 million would pay for design work and permitting for Phase 1 of the Teaticket-Acapesket sewer project and includes the wastewater collection system for the northeastern part of Maravista and the Teaticket peninsula, a booster pump station and sewer main, and expansion of the town's existing beds for treated wastewater discharge. This project would be funded through borrowing and also be offset by $1.7 million in American Rescue Plan funds.

Four requests from the Community Preservation Committee are for historic preservation projects.

These include:

• $577,076 for continued rehabilitation at the 223-year-old Edward Marks Building at 744 Main St., the town's oldest municipal building that originally served as a tavern and at one time served as a community poor house.

• $21,725 to pay for a ground penetrating radar survey at the Old Burying Ground at 0 Cemetery Lane, to locate any lost markers. This is part of a project to document the condition of and preserve or restore about 750 gravestones and monuments.

• $73,505 for continued rehabilitation of the 233-year-old Dr. Francis Wicks House, owned by the Falmouth Historical Society at 55 Palmer Ave. Funds would also be used toward the conservation of 14 portraits and four paintings of local historical significance.

• $1.1 million for rehabilitation work at the town-owned, 145-year-old Highfield Hall at 56 Highfield Drive, which is one of Cape Cod's early summer mansions.

Heather McCarron writes about climate change, environment, energy, science and the natural world, in addition to news and features in Barnstable, Brewster and Falmouth Reach her at hmccarron@capecodonline.com, or follow her on Twitter @HMcCarron_CCT

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Falmouth town meeting: Tax override, offshore wind, school repairs