Norwich — The preliminary budget approved Monday by the City Council calls for a total combined city, school and capital improvements budget of $125.49 million with a central city tax rate just under the 50-mill mark aldermen are hoping to avoid with budget cuts.

The new proposed budget includes $45.3 million for general government, $77.7 million for city schools and $2.47 million for capital improvements. The citywide tax rate would be 40.75 mills. Property owners in the central city paid fire district would pay another 8.9 mills for a total of 49.65 mills, a 0.91-mill increase over this year. Taxpayers in the five volunteer fire districts would add 0.45 mill, for a total of 41.2 mills, a 0.53-mill increase over this year.

Mayor Peter Nystrom said the projected tax rates still are too high.

“That’s like playing on the edge of a cliff,” he said of the 49.65-mill tax rate for the central city. “We still have to reduce further. It’s a process. We’ll go through it.”

City Manager John Salomone’s proposed budget had called for a central city tax rate totaling 52.08 mills and a volunteer fire districts tax rate of 42.53 mills. The council kept his proposed 2 percent increase in the education budget, but school officials have argued the district needs the 9 percent hike the school board approved in March.

The council will hold a budget public hearing at 7:30 p.m. Monday and could make further changes before adopting a final budget by June 11.

Aldermen reviewed five levels of possible cuts Monday, ranging from overall totals of 1 percent to 5 percent, to the current year’s budget. After hearing several comments from residents, mostly objecting to harsh cuts to the school, recreation, police and fire budgets, aldermen rejected some of those proposals.

The adopted cuts include eliminating four vacant police officer positions slated to be phased in during the 2018-19 budget year, vacant Public Works accounting clerk and street crew leader positions. The budget reduces both the Human Resources assistant and the treasurer’s office accounting assistant from 35 to 28 hours. The part-time assistant animal control officer would be reduced by 12 hours.

The council voted to keep a Public Works mechanic, a clerk shared by the city clerk and tax collector offices, a Recreation Department program administrator and all scheduled hours for lifeguards at Spaulding Pond in Mohegan Park.

Although the council voted against laying off four current officers, the police department still was the hardest hit in the preliminary budget. The council cut overtime replacement for vacation and sick time by $100,000, reduced other overtime by $55,000 and training and school crossing guards.

Otis Library would be cut by $50,000, a 5 percent cut in its $1 million allocation. Alderman Samuel Browning called the library an important player and attempted to remove it from the cuts list, arguing the library had a $63,000 cut last year and submitted a “flat” budget request this year. But his motion was defeated 4-3.

c.bessette@theday.com