NEW BERLIN – The Village of New Berlin unanimously adopted a $789,618 budget last week, with no increase in taxes for the 2011-12 fiscal year.

“We’ve pulled a little a bit of funding out of unappropriated funds and trimmed the fat as best we could. As a board we felt it was important not to increase the burden on local taxpayers. Given all the financial challenges people are facing, we didn’t think it was right for the village to add to them,” said Mayor Wade Schrag.

The budget will spend $89,618 more than last year, but only slightly increases the amount raised for taxes, through some modified property assessments, from $337,242 in 2010-2011 to $338,625 in 2011-2012.

Schrag said the board did not eliminate any positions in the village but explained a combination of efforts, mainly through increased shared services with the Town of New Berlin and private billing for the paid New Berlin Ambulance service, accounted for additional savings.

While Schrag said the board did not increase the $12.12 per $1,000 of accessed property tax rate, he said some new assessments may cause a slight increase in some households. “That’s really beyond our control,” he said.

The New Berlin Ambulance service was funded by the same amount it was last year, $98,750, but more than $72,250 of that was paid for by private medical insurance. The remainder is paid by the village, and the Towns of Columbus and New Berlin.