Residents in three towns will head to the polls Tuesday to vote on spending plans for next fiscal year.

Brookfield will vote on a proposed $67.4 million operating budget, New Milford will decide on a $101.6 million plan, while Ridgefield will vote on a $144 million budget.

In Brookfield, residents are considering one of the biggest spending hikes in years. The proposed operating budget would increase expenses by 4.1 percent and raise the tax rate by 5.6 percent.

The budget includes $43 million for the schools and $24.4 million for the town.

The town side of the proposal represents a 2.4 percent spending increase, while the schools would increase their budget by 4.9 percent.

Budget drivers include contractual salary increases, a rise in special education costs and reductions in state aid. Non-union employees would also see their first raise in years under the plan.

Voters will also decide on the $2.6 million capital budget, which includes replacing some trucks, renovations to the boys’ locker room at the high school and command cars for the Center and Candlewood fire companies.

Meanwhile, New Milford’s proposal is about $583,000 more than this year. It includes $63.3 million for the schools and $38.3 million for the town.

The tax rate would increase 3.87 percent under the proposal.

The Town Council had originally aimed to keep school funding the same, but the Board of Finance voted to add about $500,000 to the education budget after an outcry from residents.

The plan calls for taking about $1.2 million from the undesignated fund to partially offset a tax increase, an idea the financial director advised against. This would leave $16 million in the fund. Town policy recommends between $12.5 million and $20 million remain.

Ridgefield also plans to use $1.6 million from the town’s fund balance, which has been built up with surplus funds through the years, to keep the tax increase down. Under its proposal, the tax rate will rise by 1.8 percent.

Ridgefield’s proposed spending plan includes $47.4 million for the town and debt service, $95 million for the schools and $1.84 million in infrastructure.

The Board of Finance had cut the schools’ request by $1.1 million, but the education board has said it can manage the reduction through health insurance savings and cutting new expenses. This includes eliminating two school psychologist positions the board had wanted to add to the elementary and middle schools.

Voters at a special town meeting last week approved $947,000 worth of capital projects, but the referendum will ask residents to decide on the rest of the items from the $5.2 million capital budget.

These capital items include the $1.3 million renovation to the Venus Building, 63 new parking spaces near Governor Street and $949,388 in school projects.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. in all three towns.

In Brookfield, District 1 residents will vote at Huckleberry Hill Elementary School, while District 2 residents will vote at Brookfield High School.

In New Milford, District 1 votes at Northville Elementary School, District 2 at the C.E. Lillis Building, District 3 at Old Fellows Lodge, District 4 at the Gaylordsville Fire Department, District 5 at Schaghticoke School, District 6 at Hill and Plain School and District 7 at Sarah Noble School.

Ridgefield residents vote at Yanity Gym.

Katrina Koerting and Anna Quinn contributed reporting.