"Development Guidelines" for the 2010-11 city budget are there among the items to be approved on the consent agenda for Monday night's City Council meeting.

These guidelines are points to be "considered" as the city administration juggles how little it's going to have coming in and how much it's going to need to pay out next fiscal year.

Top of the list: increase of the property-tax rate.

Times are tight all over, but it's going to cost more next year to service debt on some of those bonds the voting taxpayers approved (remember "8 Bonds For A Better Durham"?) when times were looser.

And that federal stimulus money that cushioned the sticker shock this year isn't going to be there next time.

You can read the whole rationale, and the rest of what's to be considered, at www.durhamnc.gov/agendas/2010/cm20100405/219349_6979_284204.doc.PDF.