(KAIR)--The 2024 Atchison County budget has been finalized.

The Atchison County Commission Tuesday approved a budget that calls for more than $20.5 million in total expenditures and a property tax levy increase of nearly two mills. The budget contains an estimated tax rate of 51.573 mills. That's anticipated to raise more than $11 million in local tax revenue—a 9.52 percent increase over this year.

The county's assessed valuation increased about $10 million, which means a mill will generate $214,073.

The county had initially been looking at a 4 mill tax levy increase, but following a September 5 public hearing on the budget agreed to make a further attempt to reduce the mill levy--setting a goal of cutting another around $400,000 from the budget.