Washington’s City Council on Monday is expected to adopt the budget for the 2017-2018 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The proposed overall $74.7 million budget, unless the council changes a decision it made last month, does not raise the city’s property-tax rate by three cents per $100 valuation. City Manager Bobby Roberson’s recommended budget, presented to the council April 1, called for such an increase.

The proposed budget does not increase water, sewer, electric or stormwater rates. The proposed budget does not recommend reducing electric rates, something Councilman Doug Mercer, earlier this year, suggested the council consider. During the council’s budget work session April 26, Mercer told his council colleagues the city’s Electric Utilities Advisory Commission recommends decreasing electric rates for all city power customers by 3 percent.

After debating ways to avoid increasing taxes — city staff presented three options — the council voted 3-1 for an alternative the will fill the $255,000 revenue void created when it voted earlier this week to not raise the city’s property-tax rate. The option chosen by the council reduces expenditures in the proposed budget by $99,381, increases revenues by $37,500 and transfers $59,060 from the electric fund to the general fund and the same amount from the city’s fund balance (rainy-day fund) to the general fund.

Another option would have transferred $255,000 from the electric fund to the general fund. A third alternative would have transferred $127,500 from the electric fund to the general fund and the same amount from the fund balance to the general fund.

As with previous budget, the proposed budget continues to set aside money for a new police station. Currently, the city has $1.24 million set aside for the new facility.

In his recommended budget, Roberson suggested transferring $166,970 from the general fund to the public safety capital reserve fund, the same amount transferred in the current budget. Roberson also recommends increasing the police station capital fund from $1,241,854 in the current fiscal year to $1,453,708 in the upcoming fiscal year.

For several years, the city has been setting aside part of its general-fund revenues into a reserve fund to help pay for capital expenditures such as building a new police station. Of the city’s property-tax rate of 50 cents per $100 valuation, just under two cents of that rate is designated for the city’s public safety capital reserve.

For at least 15 years, city officials have wrestled with building a new police station, building a new fire station to replace the headquarters station on North Market Street or a facility that would house both services.

The proposed budget allocates $200,000 for drainage improvements at various locations in the Jack’s Creek basin.

The proposed budget allocates $98,000 toward a new fishing pier at Havens Gardens.

The council has final say on the proposed budget, and it could make last-minute changes to it.

The council meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the Council Chambers in the Municipal Building, 102 E. Second St. To view the council’s agenda for a specific meeting, visit the city’s web­site at www.washingtonnc.gov, click “City Agendas.” Locate the appropriate agenda (by date) under the “Washington City Council” heading, then click on that specific agenda listing.