Southern Pines will hold a final public hearing on its 2010-2011 budget during its regular meeting Tuesday.

The council will likely take a vote on adopting the budget after the hearing. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Douglass Center on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Under the proposed $17.9 million budget, the property tax rate would remain unchanged at 35 cents per $100 valuation. The tax rate has remained unchanged since 2009.

Facing tough economic times, this year's budget in-cludes little money for new programs and positions and instead focuses on maintaining service levels while maintaining current tax rates and fee schedules.

Town Manager Reagan Parsons has called the budget "pretty tight."

"Right now, no one on the council has asked for any changes," Parsons said.

Parsons said no major changes to the budget are expected unless something happens at the state level that would affect the town.

The 2010-2011 proposed general fund budget is $1.2 million less than a year ago.

The budget includes funds for a new phone/communication system ($102,823), three fire/emergency medical technician positions ($132,784) - a two-year SAFER grant for $252,552 will offset some of the expense associated with the hires - a part-time administrative-records clerk ($20,292), a part-time police patrol officer ($10,000), a part-time clerical position in the Recreation and Parks Department ($6,459), reconstruction of town tennis courts ($85,000), three vehicle re-placements ($99,000) and equipment ($62,250).

The council has made some minor changes to the budget since it was presented. The council added a 2 percent increase in both water and sewer rates. That would amount to 50 cents a month for water and 58 cents for sewer - or $13 a year - for customers using 5,000 gallons a month. The council said it would rather enact a small increase now, rather than a possible larger one in the future.

The council held the first of two public hearings on the budget May 11.

Contact Tom Embrey by e-mail at tembrey@thepilot.com.