Financial concerns were on the minds of Standish town councilors Tuesday as they put off three spending proposals for town planning and sidewalks.

Town Manager Gordon Billington told councilors that he expects a $225,000 revenue shortfall due to decreases in excise taxes, building fees, passport services, Emergency Medical Services fees and other revenues. Investment income was hit hard, Billington said, dropping from $100,000 to $30,000 from last year to this one.

Though Billington has implemented cost-cutting measures, staffing was not cut in the current fiscal year, though the next fiscal year could be a different story.

A public hearing on the budget will be held on March 10 at 7 p.m. at the Standish Municipal Center. Billington said the proposed budget will be on the town Web site at www.standish.org around Feb. 25.

Councilor Terry Christy said the personnel committee was working to make recommendations to the town manager for the budget.

“This has been a terribly difficult time,” Christy said.

He added that the number of families requesting help from Catherine’s Cupboard Food Pantry had grown from 25 to 125 since it opened in April 2008, and he encouraged people to support the pantry.

Two spending proposals by Councilor Carolyn Biegel were denied, including one to spend $14,000 from the planning account to complete a plan for Standish Village and another to spend money left over from a bond to construct a sidewalk near the Colonial Marketplace.

Christy recommended tabling for two months his own request for $3,500 from the council contingency account for an engineering study for a proposed town beach on the Cargill lot, located off Route 114 on the west shore of the lake.

“We have unusual times ahead of us in this budget season,” Christy said.

Though the committee and the town has waited six years for a beach and current negotiations with the Portland Water District are positive, Christy said he couldn’t justify spending the money. It could make a difference between a town employee working part time and not at all, Christy said.

Residents have been working with the Portland Water District to buy or lease some of its property on Sebago Lake for a beach. After talks were stalled for a couple of years, members of the Portland Water District Steering Committee made a presentation to the district’s trustees last year on their most recent proposal for parts of the Cargill lot.

Biegel proposed planning money to complete a plan for Standish Village.

“Without a plan, you do not get a finished product,” Beigel said, pointing out that the $14,000 was budgeted for the planning account and thus could not be spent for anything else.

“Do we really have extra money that we can do this kind of planning with?” asked resident Isabel Higgins, who also serves on the Village Implementation Committee with Biegel. “I don’t think it’s our job to design the village.”

“I think this is a worthwhile project, but like Terry and his beach, I think this should be put on the shelf,” said Town Councilor Margaret Spencer.

Beigel withdrew a separate order to use extra bond money to build a sidewalk from Pit Stop Fuels to the Colonial Marketplace. Last year’s capital improvements bond included an ambulance budgeted at $180,000. Since that purchase came in almost $14,000 under budget, Beigel suggested using the extra to invest in the sidewalk.

Councilor Phil Pomerleau also presented a 10-year capital plan Tuesday, with the town only contributing $518,000 in the next fiscal year.

“I feel emotional about this,” Pomerleau said. “I hope SAD 6 realizes what we’ve done to offset increases in their budget.”