CLAREMONT — The City Council unanimously approved a $19.6 million budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The budget is projected to increase the municipal portion of the tax rate by 19 cents to bring it to $10.49 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation and add $44 in property taxes to a home assessed at $230,000.

“We put together a good budget and we believe this is a fair budget,” City Manager Yoshi Manale said to the council before the vote on Wednesday. 

The budget represents an increase of about $50,000 from the current year, which is slightly more than a quarter of one percent.

Manale noted that his budget funds $911,000 for road and sidewalk repairs, which many residents complain about, and adds a deputy director position in the Planning and Development office to focus on both business development and housing. Also in the budget is a new slide for the community center pool. Health insurance costs are up 15% and the police budget is up about $200,000 to $3.26 million. Most of the increase is for two positions that were not filled and removed from the current budget by the council last year.

The changes the council made to the budget during deliberations over the past two months include adding $25,000 to the welfare budget, bringing it to $471,000. The budget was overspent and the council had to vote to add more money earlier this year. The airport budget was trimmed about $20,000 to $126,000. Mayor Dale Girard said they wanted to be sure the airport’s expenses were covered by its revenues, including fuel. There was also $58,000 cut from the Parks and Recreation budget.

Manale noted that revenues for next year do not include any of the city’s unassigned fund balance, which in the past has been used to offset some of the tax increases. Non-tax revenues are projected to fall about 5% mainly because the city removed $400,000 set aside to pay for tax abatements.

Still ahead for the council is the capital budget of $425,000 proposed by Manale. It will be discussed later this summer because Manale is relying on revenue from the auction of city-owned property to fund that budget.

Last October, the council approved more than 30 properties with more than $1.8 million in combined assessed value of land and building for the auction. The auction is scheduled for late July.

In the capital budget is a $325,000 splash pad for Barnes Park, which Manale said was something residents supported in a survey on future park needs. The remaining anticipated revenue from the auction will be used to make bathrooms at Barnes and Arrowhead Recreation Area off South Street in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.