City property taxes are expected to go up next year, but not by as much as originally proposed.

City council Tuesday night said it will vote Thursday to raise its debt service tax to 7.5 mills, up from 6.25 mills.

The city last month proposed raising that tax to 10 mills, the maximum allowed under third class city code.

Raising the tax to 10 mills would have cost the average taxpayer about $50 per year, while raising it to 7.5 mills would be less than a $25 per year increase, council estimated.

“None of us at this table want to raise taxes,” said Mayor Tom Donaldson. “But the city is hurting financially.”

The city expects to get about $80,000 through the tax hike, which will go to paving streets.

“If we don’t pay, we’ll eventually get to the point where we don’t have any streets,” the mayor said.

Council originally planned to use the hike to 10 mills to help pay for the West New Castle Street bridge project and the Sullivan Run flood control projects. The city now hopes to package about $500,000 of those costs into a bond issue that will pay for a new parking garage.

Council is getting a bond issue through PNC Bank to pay for a 225-space parking garage that will be part of the Centre City project, which also includes a Rite Aid Pharmacy and a proposed Marriott Springhill Suites hotel. Council will introduce an ordinance Thursday night authorizing the city to get up to $7 million through the bond.

The estimated $4.1 million garage is estimated to require about a $5.8 million bond issue. That figure includes a $1.7 million repackaging of the parking authority’s existing debt.

Council hopes to include the cost of the flood control projects into that bond issue, since the projects would benefit the city during the life of the bond.

The West New Castle Street Bridge project is a joint effort with the state Department of Transportation.

The bridge is being widened to lessen the likelihood of flooding. It is part of the Sullivan Run flood control project that began two decades ago.

That project will include several other parts, including work to improve water flow on the waterway.

The debt service tax is one of only two taxes the city is allowed to raise per state law, with the other being its 2-mill recreation tax.

The city’s other tax rates are all at the maximum allowed under the third class city code. The overall tax rate is 38.75 mills.

The projects are expected to be completed next year.

The tax will be included in the 2015 budget, which council is set to approve Thursday.