Masset council has given first reading to a budget which will raise property taxes by just under two percent this year.Administrator Trevor Jarvis said council members wanted to make sure that no residents receive a huge tax increase, even though some property assessments, especially for waterfront lots, have increased dramatically.The village office has been hearing from concerned homeowners whose property assessments doubled, he said, and they were worried about how this would affect their taxes.An assessment increase does not necessarily lead to a tax increase, but an assessment increase which is higher than the average increase is likely to mean higher property taxes.The draft budget calls for an overall tax requisition of $512,000, compared to $503,000 last year."The council here has been really quite firm abut not raising residential taxes," Mr. Jarvis said. "That definitely played into the budget."According to the draft budget, the village will pretty much operate the way it did last year. No major changes or extra work is planned, Mr. Jarvis said.Members of the public can check out the draft financial plan at the village office during open hours.