The Chapel Hill Town Council passed an $85.2 million budget for fiscal year 2009-10, which starts July 1.
The council, at its meeting Monday night at Town Hall, decided on a tax rate of 49.4 cents per $100 assed valuation, down from the previous tax rate of 58.1 cents.
The reduction takes into account recent property revaluations. Although the rate is revenue neutral in that the town is taking in the same amount of property tax revenue as last year, most residents will see a rise in their tax bills. Even with a drop projected in automobile property tax revenue, the tax rate for real property was reduced by about 14 percent. Most Chapel Hill homeowners saw a rise in assessments higher than that.
Town Manager Roger Stancil said he balanced the budget mainly by shifting money from the town’s fund balances and an aggressive savings plan started last fall in anticipation of a reduction in sales tax and other revenues. A hiring freeze, no pay increases for town workers and a delay in some construction projects, including a proposed expansion of the Chapel Hill Public Library, were also part of the saving effort.