Oak Bluffs selectmen on Wednesday approved three ballot questions for voters in April — including one that would authorize $500,000 for dredging at Sengekontacket Pond — as well as the warrant for the annual town meeting, which calls for a balanced budget of $24.1 million among other things.

Town administrator Michael Dutton said after the selectmen’s meeting that next year’s budget calls for roughly the same level of spending as the current year’s budget. Town officials will continue to work on the budget up until town meeting, he said.

A draft version of the spending plan indicates the assessment for the Oak Bluffs elementary school is around $6 million, up slightly over last year’s budget of $5.9 million. The town’s assessment for the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School is $3.29 million, up around 6.4 per cent from last year’s assessment of $3.09 million.

Unlike previous years, there does not seem to be any hot button issues amid the 18 articles of the annual town meeting warrant or the six articles of the special town meeting warrant. Perhaps the most newsworthy is an article on the annual town meeting warrant asking voters to appropriate $500,000 to dredge a channel in Sengekontacket Pond parallel to the Joseph Silvia State Beach.

The purpose of the dredging is to both improve circulation in the pond while also harvesting much-needed sand for several town beaches. High levels of bacteria have forced the closure of Sengekontacket to shellfishing for the past two summers, and it is widely believed that dredging would improve tidal circulation while reducing bacteria levels.

Town officials hope to use much of the sand taken from the pond to renourish the town waterfront, specifically at the old Pay Beach and Inkwell Beach.

If the dredging article is approved at town meeting, it will appear as a ballot question during the townwide election two days later. The ballot question asks voters to approve funding for the dredging through a debt exclusion of Proposition 2 1/2, the state law which limits the annual increase in a community’s tax levy to 2.5 per cent.

A debt exclusion allows the town to temporarily add to the town tax take, as opposed to an override, which permanently increases the tax levy.

Voters also will face debt exclusions for the town’s share of the bond issued by the regional high school for the cost of new school busses, and another for the cost of purchasing a parcel off Pennsylvania avenue commonly referred to as the Leonardo property.

The finance and advisory board sent selectmen a letter this week suggesting that a portion of three department budgets — the Oak Bluffs School, regional high school and police department — be placed on an override question during the town election. Finance board members had asked for level funding from all town departments, and the amount requested by the two schools and the police departments exceeded the limitations of Proposition 2 1/2.

But selectmen were reluctant to support the overrides, arguing they could create competition among town departments while also leading to cuts in town services.

“I think it’s a matter of ‘gotcha’ by [the finance board],” said Ronald DiOrio, selectmen chairman. “It’s not like we have $800,000 lying around and we’re going to go Christmas shopping.”

Selectman Roger Wey agreed. “We have a balanced budget without these overrides. I say we keep the budget as it is,” Mr. Wey said.

Selectmen also approved:

• An article to allow the town to enter into an agreement with other towns and government agencies to establish an Island-wide fund to pool post-retirement health benefit funds. Currently all Island towns are carrying an unfunded liability on their balance sheets for such post-retirement benefits, and Oak Bluffs has a liability calculated at over $10 million.

The article would authorize the towns’ representatives on the state legislature to file legislation to create a fund to allow towns to pool their money for a more favorable interest rate.

• An article authorizing the town to use $15,000 in free cash to make improvements along Seaview avenue beach to correct stormwater runoff pipes and construct a ramp for handicap access to portions of the beach.

• An article to amend the town’s hiring procedures to clarify the process for hiring new employees and giving the town administrator a larger role.

• An article creating a new provision in the town bylaws prohibiting people from washing cars on a town road in the B-1 and B-2 zoning districts. A violation will result in a fine of $50 for the first offense and $100 for a subsequent offense.

• An article that would make comprehensive changes and additions to the Animal Control Bylaw and more clearly define the role of the animal control officer.

• An article authorizing the creation of a trust that could hold funds and property for affordable housing units.

Both the annual town meeting and the special town meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on April 14 at the performing arts center of the regional high school. The town wide elections will be held on April 16 at the town library meeting room; polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.