The 2.3 per cent increase will add an extra $43 to the average homeowners bill

Halifax Regional Council has approved a 2.3 per cent property tax increase after meeting Friday morning at city hall.

Mayor Mike Savage attempted an amendment to lower the increase to 2.1 per cent by using $900,000 from this year's operating surplus.

That motion was defeated but Savage said he's still happy with the number they landed on.

"Last year we did a similar motion, I think there were only a few people who voted for it, this year it was very close to passing," he told reporters. "I can live either way. I'm not offended or disappointed that we didn't get this. It's within the margins so it's not a lot of money."

Dartmouth Centre councillor Sam Austin believes they were able to strike a good compromise.

"We went through all the departmental budgets and we picked out what our priorities were and we ended up with an increase that is certainly less than what was projected at the start when staff were suggesting 2.9, and we also didn't let go of key services," he said.

"Did we get it as low as 1.9 per cent as some folks wanted? No. Did we make some hard choices here and there? Yes. Did we preserve key things like making sure we have good fire protection in Fall River, implementing the Moving Forward Together Plan for transit in Sackville, and preserving library hours? We looked at that and said these things have value and to get to 1.9 per cent at the expense of doing things like that isn't worth it."

The 2.3 per cent increase will add an extra $43 to the average homeowners bill.