NELSON — While a slightly larger budget is planned for Nelson, no tax increase is expected for its residents.

The city unveiled the first draft of its fiscal year 2012 budget during a Thursday public hearing.

Two residents attended the hearing, along with Mayor David Leister and City Council members Penny Thacker and Paul Feldman.

The city is expected to have the first reading of its budget for the fiscal year, which begins in October, during its July 11 meeting. The second reading and final approval could come as early as the Aug. 1 meeting.

The proposed balanced budget calls for $440,000 in expenditures and $440,000 in revenues. That’s up slightly from the current fiscal year’s budget of $438,000.

The city is expecting to generate $100,000 for its Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax III account. The city also has $300,000 in SPLOST reserves and $100,000 in general fund reserves.

The proposed budget is based on the city’s millage rate remaining at 4.5 mills for Cherokee County residents of the city, with 1.546 mills for the city property tax and 2.956 for the county fire district tax.

A homeowner with a house valued at $200,000 with the standard $5,000 exemption would pay $337 in city property taxes.

Leister added the city will transfer $5,000 from the police department’s budget to its maintenance account.

“We feel comfortable we could use some of that funding,” he said.

The $5,000 would have been used to hire another part-time police officer, Leister said.

Leister also said no millage rate increase is expected for city residents.

In the SPLOST budget, the city plans to set aside $60,000 toward capital outlay improvements and grant matching. Those funds could also be used towards making improvements in city parks and recreation offerings.

Nelson, which has a population of 1,314, has four full-time and two part-time employees. No layoffs or furloughs are included in the budget at this time, said City Clerk Brandy Edwards.

During the public hearing, Mike Haviland, a resident who sits on the Planning and Zoning Commission, recommended that the council begin thinking about long-term capital improvement plans.

He noted a 10-year vision on what improvements they would like to see something the commission work on.

Feldman said he was satisfied with the budget that was presented, adding the numbers looked good.

“I think people like that we are in the black,” he said.