AUBURN – Councilors will bring their draft 2006 budget before the public tonight.

Councilors are working on a $30.5 million budget that calls for a 6 percent increase in spending and 7.2 percent more in property taxes.

The first public hearing on that budget is a part of tonight’s regular meeting, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

“We have this meeting set up so we can get a sense of the public’s expectations regarding taxes and service,” said City Manager Pat Finnigan. “I think they understand that costs go up all the time, for them as well as the city. But we need to know what services they value most, so the council can set its own priorities for the rest of the budget process.”

The city is midway through the budget process. Councilors began reviewing the budget in April and need to adopt a budget by the end of June. The council will schedule two more public hearings later in process, Finnigan said.