Alexandria’s new city manager on Tuesday proposed a budget that would freeze the tax rate in the Northern Virginia suburb and boost pay for first responders, a sign of cautious optimism as the city attempts to push past the coronavirus pandemic.

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       Jim Parajon, who took over the city’s top appointed post last month, said the nearly $830 million spending plan is meant to achieve two key objectives: reverse some cuts and end freezes prompted by the pandemic, including 40 positions in city government, and increase compensation for Alexandria’s employees, some of whom have been publicly sounding the alarm about lagging pay and recruitment challenges.

       The budget represents a 7.7 percent increase from the previous fiscal year, which runs from July through June, although Parajon said a little less than half of that increase would go toward restoring cut positions and programs.

       The proposal includes no property tax rate increase, but rising property assessments mean that the average homeowner would end up paying $445 more in annual real estate taxes. City council members also asked Parajon to suggest two alternative tax rates, which would increase the tax per $100 of assessed value by one or two cents, resulting in an increase for the average homeowner of $511 or $577, respectively.

       The proposed budget would push up the pay scale by 6 percent for firefighters and medics, 5 percent for police and sheriff’s deputies, and 4 percent for all other city employees. Those pay hikes are separate from step increases, which usually average slightly under 3 percent.

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       Alexandria has historically tried to keep pay for first responders in the middle of the pack compared to other jurisdictions in the D.C. metro area. But fire and police union leaders said that strategy has in fact left them always playing catch-up, creating staffing shortages that strained their departments’ response to a string of emergency incidents last fall.

       Alexandria is struggling to keep up pay for first responders. They say it’s straining emergency response.

       Parajon’s recommendations are short of a 10 percent across-the-board increase sought by first responders’ unions. At a news conference Tuesday morning, he said their concerns would not be resolved immediately.

       “That’s not a one-year issue. This was a multiyear challenge,” he said. “We are taking a step forward this year, but we anticipate that in future years, this will continue to be an area of emphasis.”

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       In neighboring Arlington County, the county manager also emphasized boosting employee compensation in his budget proposal over the weekend. Public-sector unions are set to engage in collective bargaining this year in both jurisdictions for the first time in decades, but that process is not expected to affect the budget until fiscal year 2024.

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       Alexandria’s budget would also increase the storm water utility fee by $14, to a total of $294 for most single-family detached homes. Faced with aging pipes and increased rainfall, Alexandria has increasingly seen flooding as a major challenge. Last year, the city embarked on a massive infrastructure project meant to replace the combined sewer system in Old Town, which spews millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River when it overflows.

       The budget also sets aside nearly $248 million for Alexandria’s public school system, funding the district’s full request.

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       Parajon on Tuesday night also presented the city’s 10-year capital improvement plan, a $2.73 billion proposal that had been delayed by the pandemic. That effort would provide almost $498 million for public school facilities, which have grown increasingly crowded as Alexandria’s population has boomed.

       School projects under the plan include a new high school, the renovation and expansion of two elementary schools — Cora Kelly and George Mason — and the transformation of an office building on the West End into “swing space” to house programs displaced by construction.