COEUR d'ALENE - The city of Coeur d'Alene adopted its $77.9 million budget Tuesday.

The plan includes money for four new police cars, two front loaders for the street department, a cash reserve set aside for construction on the McEuen Field redevelopment project and raises for 300-plus city employees.

It does not include a requested property tax increase.

"Public employees get beaten up a lot. They're an easy group to kick when the economy is down," said City Councilman Mike Kennedy on the plan that includes $815,600 in cost of living and merit pay increases spread over its 353.5 full-time equivalent positions. "I'm not going to do that."

New growth should give the city $345,000 in new property taxes. Added to annexation fees and no increase in health insurance, plus other avenues, allowed the city to meet the contractual raise and merit obligations with the city's three collective bargaining agencies, said Troy Tymesen, city finance director.

"I think that teamwork works well for this city," said Deanna Goodlander, city councilwoman, on the bargaining agencies.

Council President Ron Edinger was the lone dissenting vote on the budget. He said he couldn't support a plan that obligated "public money" to a possible McEuen Field project.

The plan slots around $2.6 million for initial work on the project, eyeing Lake City Development Corp., the city's urban renewal agency that allocates tax increment financing, as the source of that funding.

It also plans on spending $240,000 in special funds for a possible baseball complex at Cherry Hill Park. The site has been identified as a possible replacement location for the American Legion baseball field, which will move from its McEuen Field home as the park undergoes transformation. The Eagles club owns the land near Cherry Hill, and the city is setting aside $52,000 for a possible deal, also from special funds.

Those special funds come from Parks Capital Improvement Fund, which are collected through park fees such as from concessions and dock rentals.

Edinger called those fees public money, and wouldn't support the plan since it involved McEuen Field.

"That's why I'm voting against the budget," he said.

Coeur d'Alene's valuation is slated to drop around 7 percent for fiscal year 2012, from $3 billion in the current year to roughly $2.8 billion, Tymesen said.

The fiscal year begins Oct. 1.