Unalaska’s finances for the upcoming year will come into focus at tonight’s city council meeting.

The council is scheduled to adopt a five-year plan for capital projects, and they’ll take their first vote on the 2015 budget. It includes more $31 million in spending, including a $25.3 million operating budget. That's an increase of about 3 percent over the current operating budget.

Council will also get the ball rolling on business and property taxes for 2014. They’ll convene the Board of Equalization to consider tax appeals from local property owners.

The city hired an appraisal firm last year to conduct a comprehensive reassessment of real property. That’s the value of land, the home that’s built on it, and any other structures on it. The assessors found that there was about $584 million worth of real property in Unalaska in 2014. More than half of that is taxable -- a value’s that increased by about $37 million over last year.

But a number of residents don’t agree with the new value of their lands and homes -- or their tax bills. Twenty-two property owners have filed appeals. Property owners have filed 22 appeals. According to a memo from city manager Chris Hladick, that’s about four times as many appeals as the city usually gets.

Adam Verrier, an appraiser, is settling up some of those cases with residents. But he’ll be at the meeting to present the rest of the appeals to the Board of Equalization.

After they work through the appeals, the city council will vote on the final business and real property tax rolls for 2014. And they’ll also have to set the tax rate.

Council could opt to change the rate, for the first time in six years. The last change was a reduction, to 10.5 mils. At that rate, a homeowner owes the city a little over $4,000 in tax each year on a home assessed at $400,000.

Council will also consider a two funding requests for the upcoming year from nonprofits -- Unalaskans Against Sexual Assault and Family Violence, or USAFV, and Unalaska Community Broadcasting, which is KUCB’s parent organization.

They’re each asking for $15,000. USAFV wants to put that money toward buying a larger vehicle for the organization, while Unalaska Community Broadcasting would use the money to purchase a remote broadcasting system. The system would be used to televise live city council meetings.

Council will also take up a budget amendment request from the Finance Department. It covers about $119,000 in overspending from this past year. Some of the money went toward auditing, but most of it is the cost of a long search for a new department director.

One contract is up for consideration this evening: A $191,000 agreement with ERM Alaska, a consulting firm based in Anchorage, to create management plans for the Unalaska Lake Watershed and the Lower Iliuliuk River. The project would be paid for entirely in state grants.

In other business, city planner Erin Reinders will brief council on an upcoming visit by the American Planning Association. The group will be in town next week to work with city staff and gather public input on a land use plan. They’ll also be talking with residents to determine the community’s long-term vision for growth.

Council will meet early tonight -- at 6 p.m. in City Hall.