REDMOND – Residents can expect to save a few dollars next year on property taxes under the city of Redmond’s proposed budget, which includes about $24 million toward an 18-month project to expand the airport’s terminal.

The $139 million annual budget, which would fund the city starting July 1, is about 25 percent larger than last year’s budget, Finance Director Chris Earnest said.

”We’re a growing city,” he said, explaining that the budget adds funds for 13 new full-time employees and includes millions of dollars for road improvements.

Once again, almost half of the city’s budget is dedicated to capital projects like the terminal expansion, adding new roads, building parks and improving the city’s sewer system.

The budget was presented to the Redmond City Council on Tuesday night.

Redmond Airport’s terminal project has increased in cost about 10 percent to $36 million since it was announced last year. The plans originally called for space for one more airline in addition to Skywest Airlines and Horizon Airlines. But with the addition of service to Las Vegas on Allegiant Air last month, the airport modified the project so that once complete, four airlines could operate from the terminal. The extra $3 million over the old price tag will pay for more counter and office space for the airlines as well as larger bathrooms, Airport Manager Carrie Novick said.

About $7.5 million for the project, which should be complete by the end of 2008, will come from a state grant and $2.2 million will come from a federal airport grant.

Earnest said the remaining amount would be paid for with a bond. But voters would not need to approve that bond since airport funds, like landing fees and the leases airlines and rental car companies pay for counter space, would be used, he said.

For the third year in a row, Redmond is dedicating $1.2 to new road construction, in addition to several million more dollars for other transportation improvements. One of the largest projects will be an extension of 27th Avenue on the city’s west side.

Even though the city is spending almost $30 million more than it did last year, property tax revenues are also expected to grow by almost 8 percent. Most of that is due to new construction, Earnest said, and 2.7 percent will come from increasing assessed values on existing homes and buildings.

For several years, the city has made small decreases to the overall property tax rate. This year, it could drop from the current rate of $17.32 per $1,000 in assessed home value to $17.26 per $1,000. That translates into a small savings of about $12 on a home assessed at $200,000.

The proposed budget also includes $480,000 that would be set aside for a new City Hall and a new public works building sometime in the future. Between the two, the city will have saved $4.2 million toward those projects with this coming year’s addition. The money could be used either to start funding construction directly, or to make payments on a future construction bond, Earnest said.

There will be at least two public meetings this month as the city reviews and amends the proposed budget. The meetings will be at 6:30 p.m. on April 18 and 25 at the Redmond Fire Station, 341 N.W. Dogwood Ave.

”We’re still continuing to grow at a rapid pace,” Earnest said. ”It’s just not at the frantic pace that we were earlier.”

Highlights

Total: $139 million

Capital improvements: $60.6 million

* Airport terminal: $24 million

* 27th Street improvements: $4.3 million

* Sewage treatment plant upgrades: $5 million

Property tax rate: $17.26 per $1,000 assessed value