The city is in the midst of adjusting its first-ever two-year budget and the city administration is recommending Kenmore take the 1-percent increase in local property taxes allowed municipalities annually under state law.

The move would require, of course, the approval of City Council but seems to have little support among legislators.

While he stressed he is only one member of the council, Mayor David Baker said he, for one, will not be promoting the tax increase.

“Given the economic climate, I couldn’t back it,” Baker said. He added a hope the city can look at some belt-tightening measures instead, if warranted.

“I think we’re fine this year to leave it at the (current) level,” Councilwoman Laurie Sperry said of the property tax rate.

Sperry said that, oddly in her mind, the economy is forcing council to take some sort of action on property taxes even legislators don’t want to increase.

According to Sperry, under state rules, because the inflation rate is less than zero, council needs to pass a measure to keep collection rates at the current level. Passage would require positive votes from a majority of councilmembers plus one.

As for the Kenmore administration, in one portion of a budget package forwarded to City Council, Kenmore Finance Director Joanne Gregory noted the city has not taken the 1-percent property tax hike since 2004. Had the city regularly adopted the increase, additional revenues would amount to approximately $547,000 through this year.

Gregory added taking the 1 percent this year would raise only $40,149. However, Gregory also said not raising the tax would have a continuing cumulative effect on tax collections.

In discussing his support for the tax, City Manager Fred Stouder essentially followed Gregory’s lead. Stouder said that inflation has jumped by roughly 17 percent during the years Kenmore has passed on the annual tax hike. He said the bottom line, from his point of view, is that costs are rising, revenues are not.

“Sooner or later, this catches up with us,” he said.

Stouder did add Kenmore is seeing some new property revenues, but increased calls for services are arriving right alongside those additional dollars.

“We can always budget around levels of service,” Stouder said. He added the question becomes, does council and the public want, for example, Kenmore’s streets swept once a week or once a month?

In the meantime, in a memo sent council, Stouder said the review of Kenmore’s budget is routine, required by state law. The current budget covers 2009-2010.

“Even in these uncertain economic times, no substantial adjustments are recommended to the general fund,” Stouder added.

The general fund covers the day-to-day operations of the city. In other funds, Stouder recommended rearranging the numbers to leave the city with an ending balance of roughly $926,000.

Council held a public budget hearing that attracted only one or two comments at its Nov. 9 meeting. A vote on the budget adjustments was on the agenda for the Nov. 16 meeting, which occurred after the deadline for this issue, while a vote on the property tax question should happen Nov. 23.