One of the most significant elections in Westport’s recent history will take place Tuesday, when voters head to the polls to decide the fate of a proposed $3 million ballot override.

The override to the state’s Proposition 2 1/2 would permanently increase the town tax levy limit by $3 million and would result in a $225 yearly tax increase this year for the owner of a $500,000 home. If it passes Tuesday, the tax rate would increase from $8.38 to $8.83 per $1,000 of assessed value.

In return, town officials say, the override would give Westport much-needed breathing room and help reduce its structural deficit, a perpetual fiscal shortfall that officials say makes it difficult for the town to balance its budget each year without cutting into vital services.

Westport has historically been leery of overrides, and has rejected 17 of the 19 override votes held in the 41 years the state's Proposition 2 1/2 has existed. But officials say the time for one has come and voters agreed in May, when they took the first step toward the passage of an override by approving a $1 million appropriation for this fiscal year at the annual Town Meeting. That appropriation, from any future override funds, was contingent on final approval for the override coming at Tuesday’s town-wide election.

If the ballot question passes Tuesday, future appropriations out of the remaining $2 million in override funds would also be made by voters at Town Meeting, and it would ultimately be up to them to decide how much to spend each year, if any.

In stumping for an override this year, town officials had help from several private groups that formed to study the issue. One of them, the town’s Fiscal Stability Group, advocated strongly for an override, concluding, as group chairman Al Lees wrote, that the time has come:

"We have no choice, we've hit the wall," he said when the group released its report this Spring.

"I think it is important for the people of the town to understand ... that we are in a position right now where we have kicked the can down the road, we've patched up as much as we can, and we have no choice, at least as far as our committee sees. We need to go for an override of no less than $3 million, which will not serve the long term problem.The $3 million will keep us level funded for three or four years, maybe five if we're lucky."

Last week, the private Override Ballot Question Committee sponsored a public forum on the matter at Westport Middle High School. Though sparsely attended, the 90-minute forum drew a host of town officials, some advocates and others opposed to the override.

“I think so much of the conversation of the override is about the dollars and not enough about he value of the services we get,” select board member Shana Shufelt said at the forum. “If you vote ‘No,’ I really challenge you to become part of the budgeting process and tell us what you do not value anymore. What are we doing that we need to stop doing, because we cannot keep doing what we are doing. We know a ‘Yes’ vote gets you an extra police officer, gets you an extra paramedic, gets you another building inspector, some extra money for the council on aging, and a chunk of money for the schools.”

But if you vote ‘No,’ she said, “You’re really talking about having to make significant cuts. If we don’t make a change to the levy limit ... everything is at risk.”

If the July 25 vote passes, the $1 million in appropriations approved in May would be spent this year on the following:

• $405,000 would go to Westport Community Schools;

• $250,000 would go into the town's stabilization fund;

• $75,000 would go to police department salaries;

• $66,000 would go to fire department salaries;

• $65,000 would go to building department salaries;

• $60,000 would go to highway department salaries;

• $55,000 would go to information technology expenses;

• $19,000 would go to Council on Aging expenses;

• $5,000 would go to Council on Aging salaries.