Values on Warren County’s private and commercial properties grew by 1.9 percent in the past year — within officials’ recent predictions of slower development but not slow enough to force a tax rate hike for 2010-11.

A property’s value and the tax rate are both factors in determining taxes owed, along with the rate of assessment. In recent years, Warren County supervisors have kept tax rates almost even, relying on higher values to generate more income for the county.

Real and personal property for homes and businesses totaled $3,504,755,820 on the new tax roll tally by Tax Assessor Richard Holland’s office. Development of new commercial property — often a saving grace of sorts for local government to build up values — trailed off this year to just one new hotel and one restaurant. Taxes this year were based in part from a 5.9 percent upshot in total property values, mostly from a burst of new development that included three hotels, a major grocery outlet and the area’s fifth casino.

A year spent cutting county departments and such popular items as nonprofit organizations by at least 10 percent helped avoid employee furloughs in the face of shrinking revenue from state sources. Supervisors, all of whom face re-election next year along with 14 other county offices, said tax bills arriving in December shouldn’t include a rate increase.

“We’ll try not to have a millage increase next year,” District 1 Supervisor David McDonald said, adding funding levels resulting from this year’s department cuts should carry forward into next year. Annual reappraisals to a quarter of the county’s 26,050 parcels took place mainly in McDonald’s northeastern district this year.

Current tax rates, expressed in mills, were unchanged in 2009. They equal 40.53 in the county, 46.2 for schools and 35.88 inside the city, totaling 122.61 mills.

Exemptions and abatements alter the rolls during the fiscal year and are sure to change the value total as the year progresses. Applications for homestead exemptions, however, have dipped heading into midsummer budget time. Of about 12,000 homesteads in Warren County, 11,336 have homestead exemption applications ready to take effect for this year, down from 11,526 at this time last year.

Estimated spending on additions to private and commercial property is up in 2010, according to data supplied to the Permits Office. A higher number means property owners are at least planning improvements and, depending on completion, signal higher property values a year from now. Applicants for building permits outside the city pegged their costs at $11.2 million so far this year, up from $7.7 million through June 30 a year ago.

Budget talks are expected to ramp up this month, with overall spending poised to shrink from this year’s $15.03 million list. Few, if any, new spending items are part of the conversation.

A new county jail has been all but shelved for the year, with supervisors vetting possible sites slowly and sporadically. The board voted in principle to match a federal grant to purchase a search-and-rescue speedboat for the sheriff’s department, but the $51,093 local portion must appear in the department’s budget request for consideration.

Supervisors meet Tuesday through Friday to equalize the rolls for year-over-year consistency between assessments and value. From there, the public has 30 days to view their property status and file written challenges if they object. An “objection hearing” is expected Aug. 2 at the conclusion of the process.

Two appeals of values set in 2009 are still in court and await settlements. Both involve casinos, Ameristar and Riverwalk.