Butler County commissioners yesterday approved a $186 million spending plan that required a small property tax hike to balance it.

Commissioners Chairman Dale Pinkerton and Commissioners James Kennedy and James Lokhaiser all voted for the 2009 budget at a special meeting.

The owners of a home with a market value of $150,000 will see their annual country property bill increase about $18 to $440 this year.

The tax rate is complicated because the county has increased the taxable amount of the value of property from 75 percent to 100 percent, based on its value in 1969. Using comparable figures, the tax millage for 2008 was 18.75 mills for general purposes and 3.75 mills for debt service while the 2009 rate is 19.688 mills for general purposes and 3.94 mills for debt service.