The regional district has released its draft 2010 budget and will accept comments from the public on it until Friday, says administrator Helen Koning.The 47-page document is available at the regional district office in Prince Rupert, or you can call the office at 250-624-2002 and ask to have it emailed or faxed.The draft budget was set to be discussed by directors at a meeting Tuesday evening in Prince Rupert (March 9), with islands directors attending by teleconference.The draft budget calls for an increase of 15 percent in the overall tax requisition, which rises to $1.1-million in 2010 from the $985,000 collected in 2009. The various municipalities and areas will be affected differently by the increase.Ms Koning did not want to discuss details of the budget before presenting it to directors Tuesday night, but in general the regional district plans to spend more in the area of administration, and is also proposing to slightly increase spending on the islands waste system. The budget also contains a large expenditure for closing a portion of the dump, with the money for that coming from a reserve fund, a Gwaii Trust grant, and the islands share of the gas tax fund.The budget calls for the regional district to end the year with a $430,000 deficit, a deficit which should be wiped out by 2013.If you have comments on the budget after reading it, they should be sent to Ms Koning at hkoning@sqcrd.bc.ca by March 12, or talk to your regional district director: Barry Pages, Brad Setso, Cory Delves, Carol Kulesha or Evan Putterill.