When Paula Gallion first saw the $3.24 tax impact for the operating and capital budget, she feared taxes on her home in Salisbury would increase by over a thousand dollars annually.

She was in for a surprise.

While other towns dealt with double-digit tax increases and a growing burden on taxpayers, Salisbury residents will see a reduction in the town portion of their tax bill next year.

Although the final impact won’t be set until town revenues are solidified, the budget is down nearly $70,000 this year, which would result in a 28 cent decrease.

Residents approved the $1.55 million budget Tuesday.

The budget came with an amendment from Brett Walker, the Salisbury select board chair. While looking for land for a new highway department, the town was offered a landlocked parcel between the Maple Wood Cemetery and recreation fields. Someday, they could expand either, if residents approved a $10,000 addition to the operating budget.

Last year, voters approved additional funds for land acquisition for the highway department in town. While there is sufficient money in there to buy this new plot, Walker wanted to make sure residents were aware of the purchase. The budget increase would also cover fees associated with the purchases – like a title search and engineering study.

“It’s a great opportunity for us. It may not be available a year from now, two years from now, 10 years from now,” he said. “I wanted to bring it to Town Meeting to have this conversation. We asked for money for the highway department. We didn’t want to just go switch horses on you midstream.”

Now, with the additional funding, the town will look to close on the landlocked property for recreation or additional cemetery space, as well as land off of Mutton Road for the highway department, which has been an ongoing conversation in town.

The board of selectmen wanted at least a 10-acre property that has good road access for the town’s snow plows and construction vehicles. While traffic near the Mutton Road plot isn’t ideal, it checks many of the boxes for the town.

“I admit entirely that it is not a perfect property,” said Walker. “I also know that we have no alternative. We’ve been looking for a piece of property for two years and the perfect piece of property does not exist.”

The town is looking to buy the land, with a pending purchase and sale agreement, for $150,000.Voters also approved nearly $162,000 for highway equipment.

Cemetery maintenance, transfer station and recycling funding and fire rescue equipment were also approved. For Walker, and the town employees and elected officials, what residents see at the town’s annual March meeting is the culmination of months of budget proposals and public hearings. With that, he thanked those involved in the budget process for their work over the last few months.

“Thank to all of you for coming to participate,” he said. “Town Meeting is the finish of a process, but the sausage is made through the previous months. Thank you all for that.”