Bristol residents will not see an increase in town property taxes under the 2010 proposed budget.

The proposed levy of $1.64 million is about $2,400 higher than the 2009 levy. For taxpayers, the levy will translate to a tax rate of $2.69 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, essentially equal to the 2009 rate.

For the owner of a home assessed at $200,000, the rate will result in a town property tax bill of $539.

Administrator Randy Kerkman said Bristol’s levy has remained stable over the past several years. “I’m pretty proud of that,” he said, noting the Town Board’s work to control expenses. “Especially during these bad economic times.”

The town will present the budget to electors in a public hearing Nov. 18 at 7 p.m.

Chairman Richard Gossling said board members had made a commitment to keep taxes steady. “The whole board was a part of that and we worked very hard to keep our promise,” he said.

Bristol did not have a re-evaluation of property values this year, and is basing the tax rate on an overall assessed valuation for the community of $610 million, up less than 1 percent over last year. Neighboring communities that did re-evaluations found overall property values declined sharply this year.

Bristol is meeting deadlines for creating a 2010 budget. But with the referendum this week creating a separate village of Bristol, the budget will eventually need to be split between the new village and the town. That will likely occur after a village board is seated in a yet to be scheduled special election.

Kerkman said that split should not affect taxpayers.

Kerkman said the town hired an independent auditor to help split the assets and liabilities of the town and village.