GEORGETOWN

Owners of land once mandated for resource protection could be removed from that category if voters approve amendments to the town’s shoreland zoning ordinance Saturday at Town Meeting.

Mary McDonald, assistant to the Board of Selectmen, said the state has reversed a law that once required the resource protection, which critics say devalues their property.

If voters approve, she said, landowners will have more options on establishing setbacks that would allow building in previously prohibited areas.

Reid State Park and property owned by Kennebec Estuary Land Trust will continue under resource protection, she said.

Residents also will vote on a Georgetown schools budget amounting to $2,061,489 — a slight decrease from last year’s outlay of $2,085,326, chiefly because of a $70,000 decrease in the cost of special education, McDonald said.

Overall, the municipal budget on the Town Meeting warrant calls for nearly $3.3 million in spending — $21,000, or 0.6 percent, more than last year.

In order to keep taxes in check, voters will consider taking $250,000 out of savings, leaving the town with about $600,000. Last year, voters took $375,000 from savings to stabilize the property tax rate.

Article 43 calls for $405,246 for highways and bridges, compared to $458,246 last year. The town did a lot of road paving last year, McDonald explained.

“We’ve got some really good committees that are really frugal,” McDonald said. “And we have many volunteers who get things done.”

The meeting at Georgetown Central School begins at 9 a.m.