With the town election less then two weeks away, candidates fielded questions Wednesday evening on issues ranging from Proposition 2 1/2 overrides to future development and switching the town’s government model.

The candidates spoke to approximately a dozen people inside Town Hall during the Rotary Club’s annual Candidates’ Night event. The town election will be held Tuesday, April 5. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m.

Joel Avila and John Haran are vying for one open seat on the Select Board left vacant by John George. Last April, George was found guilty of conspiracy and embezzlement charges in U.S. District Court. Incumbent and current Select Board Chair Shawn McDonald is running unopposed for his seat.

In the School Committee race, three candidates – incumbents John Nunes, Chris Oliver and newcomer Kyle Ross – are seeking two available seats.

McDonald and Oliver were unable to participate Wednesday. In a prepared statement, Oliver wrote that he regretted being unable to attend due to a family matter. McDonald cited a similar reason in his statement.

The Select Board candidates debated how to prepare for future financial stability. Avila and Haran differed in their response to a question asking if they would be in favor of Proposition 2 1/2 overrides. The state law caps cities and towns annual tax hikes to 2.5 percent annually unless voters approve an override.

Haran said he was against them outright.

“There are too many people on fixed incomes and too many retired people,” he said. “We need to be fair to all citizens.”

Avila said he was generally against overrides, but some cases might require exceptions.

“There may be situations in the future that may require one, if there is a compelling reason, a critical need that should be addressed,” Avila said. “I don’t see it as something that’s totally out of the realm of possibility.”

The night’s theme appeared to center around balancing growth with preservation. A few questions touched on that issue, including one that asked the Select Board candidates what they could do to increase town revenues without raising taxes.

“I think in the long term we need to live within our means,” said Avila, adding that the town’s rapid growth over the past five years is slowing. “We will return to more normal, historical levels of growth. We need to keep those constraints in mind when we prepare the town budget.”

Haran responded that new residential developments would strain municipal services. He favored attracting more business to the town’s industrial park.

Avila and Haran agreed on a few issues. Both support passing a ballot question that would fund the construction of a new police station. They also favored keeping the Town Meeting form of government as opposed to establishing a city council/mayor model.

The School Committee candidates were asked fewer questions than Avila and Haran, but touched on the issues of school choice, the school budget and security.

Nunes and Ross agreed that proper security measures have been installed in the district. They disagreed slightly on the topic of school choice, which, if approved by the School Committee, allows a limited number of students from out of district to attend Dartmouth schools.

“I haven’t been in favor of school choice,” Nunes said. “We get $5,000 for each student from those sending districts, which is not nearly enough to offset the cost.”

Ross said, “From a budget standpoint it’s a good idea, but we really need to consider our students first. We don’t want to overburden classrooms with too many people from out of district.”