Amid declining property values, Austinites will pay higher property taxes and utility bills under the 2010-11 budget the City Council passed Monday.

The budget, which will take effect Oct. 1, is based on a tax rate of 45.71 cents per $100 of property value, which means the owner of a median-value home of $184,484 will pay $843 in city taxes next year, $52 more than this year.

Utility bills for services such as water and electricity will go up by $5.29 a month for the average customer.

Council members decided to spend $374,000 that had been set aside to produce the Trail of Lights on better parks maintenance instead. They said that, amid a budget crunch, sprucing up parks year-round is a bigger priority than hosting the annual holiday lighting display in Zilker Park. The city will still set up the Zilker Tree, lights strung on a 155 -foot pole, and council members said they'd be willing to let a private group produce the trail in this or future years.

We would all like to have the Trail of Lights, but it's difficult to justify when we've had to cut the budget and curtail maintenance for parks that people enjoy the rest of the year, Mayor Lee Leffingwell said.

Several residents protested a 6.7 percent increase in residential water rates, saying it would help pay for a new water treatment plant that Austin doesn't need.

Council Member Bill Spelman, a plant opponent, proposed a smaller rate increase of 5.9 percent, but only Council Members Laura Morrison and Chris Riley supported that idea, which failed on a 4-3 vote.

Overall, the $2.77 billion budget is less austere than the one approved last year. Then, the city gave no employee pay raises and cut 124 vacant jobs. Only 47 vacant jobs will be cut and all city employees will get raises in the 2010-11 budget.

Although property values have dipped since last year, sales tax revenue — part of the operating money that pays for parks, libraries, police and other city services — has begun to rebound after a long slump.

The budget includes money for 88 more police officers, firefighters and paramedics; new library materials; two more caseworkers at the downtown community court; and a plan to reduce euthanasia at the city's animal shelter. It also contains money to bolster the city's three pension funds.

The city will end a firefighter recruitment academy at LBJ High School and cut some money for an HIV prevention program and for video monitoring of traffic.

Only one graduate of the fire academy became an Austin firefighter, and the money cut from the other programs has historically not been spent, city budget officer Ed Van Eenoo said.

The council made only minor changes to the budget that city staffers proposed in July.

For example, it nixed a proposed decrease in the monthly trash collection rate for 60 -gallon garbage carts but agreed to increase the rate for 90 -gallon carts by $1.

The city will use some of that money to carry out recycling and other green practices at city events and possibly private events held on city land.

The council also agreed to spend an extra $380,650 on social service providers and an extra $295,000 to build and improve sidewalks. And it increased — from $25 to $140 — the cost of applying for a permit to demolish a home or building that is at least 40 years old and is in a historical district. That fee is comparable to other cities' and will help cover the cost of staff time needed to research a building and determine if it has historical merit and should not be torn down, Riley said.

The council nixed a plan to spend $385,000 in Austin Energy money on a global commerce and recruitment program tied to the World Trade Center Association.

Some council members said the idea needed more review because more than half the money would be spent on buying the World Trade Center franchise and name. Instead, most of the money will be put into a pool that the city can tap to offer incentives to businesses that want to locate or expand in Austin.

scoppola@statesman.com; 912-2939

Basics of Austin's 2010-11 budget

• Total budget: $2.77 billion, up from $2.75 billion
• General fund only (pays for most city services, such as parks, libraries and police): $650.2 million, up from $614.9 million
• Property tax rate*: 45.71 cents per $100 of property value, up from 42.09 cents this year
• Property tax bill: Up $52 to $843 for a home with the median value of $184,484
• Average electricity bill: Up 79 cents, to $92.94 a month
• Average water/wastewater bill: Up $3.84, to $71.19 a month
• Trash bill: Up $1, to $32.95 a month, for residents who use 90-gallon carts. No change to the rates for 30- and 60-gallon carts.
• Transportation user fee (appears on utility bills): Up 66 cents, to $7.29 a month

*The council won't formally adopt the rate until later this month, but it is not likely to change before then.

Source: Statesman.com