CHAPEL HILL - The Orange County manager recommended a $188.3 million budget Tuesday night that would increase the county property tax rate 9.2 percent.

The budget, which the county commissioners could revise in the coming weeks, would raise the tax rate 8.8 cents to nearly $1.04 per $100 of assessed property value.

The budget would also raise the special district tax in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district 2.65 cents to 23 cents per $100 valuation.

"The county's revenue outlook has deteriorated since last year," County Manager Laura Blackmon said in her budget message.

Property taxes make up 70 percent of the county's general fund revenues. But with a sluggish economy, the county projects an anemic 2.3 percent increase in property values. And even that growth will be lost to slowing consumer spending and a change in how the state pays for Medicaid, Blackmon said.

If the proposed budget is approved, the owner of a home assessed at $200,000 would pay $2,076 in county property taxes next year, a $176 increase.

The owner of a $200,000 home in the city schools district would pay $460 in school taxes, a $53 increase.

"An 8.8-cent increase just isn't going to fly. I suspect you already expect that," Commissioner Mike Nelson told Blackmon. "People are really hurting right now."

In an interview last week, Barry Jacobs, chairman of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, said he didn't want to see the county's tax rate pass 99.9 cents per $100 valuation.

But he conceded that with a new school opening, a senior class being added to Carrboro High School and other unavoidable costs, it was inevitable.

Nearly half the county budget goes to the county's two school systems. The increase in combined school funding in the manager's budget represents 5.4 cents of the proposed tax rate increase.

Still, Jacobs said Orange County has reached a point past which some residents may not be able to pay.

"We talk a lot about sustainability in our community, and rightly so," said Jacobs, a self-employed writer. "But we don't talk much about sustainable government."

The county has spent local money on parks, a new senior center and other amenities, Jacobs noted. With federal and state cuts, the county has also put more local tax dollars into health, mental health and other programs.

"All those things are great," Jacobs said. "But if you can't afford things, you have to take a hard look at prioritizing what you do, or the pace at which you do them."

Blackmon said Tuesday that she would draw up a list of possible budget cuts for the commissioners in coming weeks.

The board is scheduled to approve a final budget figure and tax rate June 24.