Wheatland council adopted a tax ordinance Wednesday, raising the real estate levy to 15 mills.

The tax supports the 2003 budget of $357,246, which was passed Dec. 20.

The ordinance allots 13.17 mills of the tax levy for general purposes, 1.33 mills for street lights and 0.5 mills for employee pensions.

A mill is $1 for every $1,000 in assessed property value; assessments are a property's 1970 market value.

The ordinance raised taxes by 4 mills.

The average assessment of a Wheatland home is about $15,500. A home assessed at that level would see the tax bill climb $62 a year to $233.

Council also adopted the $1,167,000 Southwest Mercer County Regional police budget, which assessed Wheatland $87,502, a 5-percent hike over 2002.