Against the backdrop of a sustained national recession, the focus of the Oak Bluffs annual town meeting next week is expected to be town finances, as voters consider a $24.1 million annual budget and several hefty spending articles, including a $500,000 dredging project in Sengekontacket Pond. Substantial pay increases for the town administrator and town clerk are expected to be another point for debate.

Voters also will consider a new bylaw from animal control officer Heather Jaglowski, $770,000 in Community Preservation Act projects and a zoning change that would allow undersized and otherwise unbuildable lots to be used for affordable housing.

The town meeting begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Performing Arts Center of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School with a six-article special town meeting. The 18-article annual town meeting immediately follows. Moderator David E. Richardson will preside.

Intense scrutiny of the budget last year stretched the town meeting to a record fourth night. The warrant this year is smaller, but in a town known for lengthy and sometimes contentious meetings, there are no guarantees that the meeting will finish in one night.

The spending request for $500,000 to dredge a channel in Sengekontacket Pond parallel to the Joseph Sylvia State Beach tops the list of articles expected to draw debate. The article was placed on the warrant by a petition from shellfisherman Bill Alwardt and has been backed by a town committee charged with overseeing water quality improvements in Sengekontacket.

Duncan Ross, selectman and chairman of the pond committee, said the dredge project will help reduce elevated bacteria levels in the pond that forced the state to close it to shellfishing for the past two summers. The dredging will hopefully improve tidal circulation and reduce bacteria, Mr. Ross said, with an eye toward reopening the pond for shellfishing as early as next summer.

The project also would harvest valuable sand that could be used to either renourish town beaches along Sea View avenue or stabilize the fragile coastal dune system currently in danger of collapse.

Mr. Ross said shellfishing in the pond is important for the town.

“Something has been missing from the town the past few summers, and it’s really too bad. Shellfishing in that pond is a favorite pastime for many people, and we need to improve water quality and reopen it to the public as quickly as possible,” he said.

Shellfish constable Dave Grunden also supports the dredge project.

“There are only two ways to reduce bacteria levels — you either cut back the pollution entering the pond or you dilute it faster by improving circulation. We are working on identifying the sources of pollution and eliminating them, but dredging will hopefully flush out [the pond] right now,” he said.

If the article is approved, Mr. Ross will act as project manager, with administrative support from Dukes County manager Russell Smith and Edgartown dredge coordinator Lynn Fraker.

And while there is consensus that the project is needed, some town leaders question whether this is the year for it, given the trend in cutbacks on spending. Ron DiOrio, chairman of the selectmen, said he would like to wait a year or two and see if the town can secure funding from the Army Corps of Engineers or some other federal agency.

“There’s no question it’s a good project. I’m just not sure the taxpayer is in a position to underwrite this right now. We have a tight budget this year, and it will probably get tighter next year,” he said.

Another big issue at town meeting could be the budget itself, which includes a three per cent pay raise for most employees. The town is contractually obligated to give the pay raises through collective bargaining agreements that cover all but a handful of town employees.

Two exceptions are for town administrator Michael Dutton, who is set to see his salary increase from $99,000 to $117,000, an increase of just over 17 per cent, and town clerk Deborah Ratcliff, who will see a salary increase from $64,147 to $74,360, a raise of around 16 per cent.

Mr. Dutton has not had a pay increase in over two years, and Ms. Ratcliff also has not received a raise in several years. She is paid substantially less than town clerks in the two other down-Island towns. The raises would bring both employees in line with a recently completed classification and compensation study.

Voters will also face two overrides to Proposition 2 1/2, the state law that limits the annual increase in a community’s tax levy to 2.5 per cent. One is for $8,000 to pay the town’s share of the county Vineyard Health Care Access program and the other is for $4,600 to pay the town’s share of the county Integrated Pest Management Program.

Selectmen recently agreed to move for an amendment on the town meeting floor that would fund both programs within the regular operating budget, eliminating the need for overrides.

Voters will also consider $760,000 in recommended Community Preservation Act funding for 10 projects, including $224,000 to convert the old town library into a pharmacy with affordable housing, $300,000 to preserve the historic clay and brick comfort station located on the North Bluff along Sea View avenue extension, and $75,000 for shoreline engineering on the town beachfront, requested by the conservation commission.

Voters will also take up a new animal control law which would set more stringent regulations for loose dogs.