BATAVIA — The Genesee County Legislature on Monday unanimously adopted a $140.6 million budget for 2010 that maintains for the third straight year the same real property tax rate.

The rate of $9.82 per $1,000 of assessed valuation was achieved by using more than $2 million from the county’s $10 million contingency fund, dozens of last minute changes that resulted in $200,000 in reductions, no raises for department heads and administrators, and a freeze on hiring. A further cut came from a 5 percent reduction in county funds allocated to not-for-profit organizations. Fourteen department heads did receive a 2.5 percent wage hike last year.

In a companion resolution, the legislators approved a $24.5 million levy on taxable property, an increase of $451,000 over 2009.

The spending plan, unveiled over one month ago by county manager Jay A. Gsell, was whittled down from an original eight cents per $1,000 tax hike and later four cents to achieve the same levy as the past two years. Some adjustments may be necessary next year depending on union contract negotiations. About 300 workers, nearly half the county’s work force, are members of a Civil Services Employees local whose three-year contract expired at the end of 2008 and is now at an impasse.

In other action, the Legislature:

Appointed Charles Cook of Byron to a vacancy on the Genesee County Economic Development Center board of directors. Cook who heads Liberty Pumps in a GCEDC business park in Bergen succeeds Michael Gerber on the seven-member board.

Amended the current budget to accept a local government efficiency grant of $113,850 from the state to cover expenses incurred with the addition of the Village of LeRoy to the county’s dispatch services in the county’s year-old Communications Center.

Accepted a low bid of $10,937 from Starr Uniform Center of Scranton, Pa., for sheriff’s office uniforms and a $4,655 allocation to purchase replacement bullet proof vests for deputies.

Approved three resolutions concerning health care coverage for county employees. They involved renewals with Independent Health of Buffalo for third party administration of the self-insured medical benefits plan, Health Economics Group of Rochester for a dental plan, and Premiere Consulting Associates of Amherst to help contain costs in the self-funded health care benefits plan.