SPRINGFIELD — The expected increase in real estate taxes may be a little less with Mayor Domenic J. Sarno pledging to use more free cash than expected to reduce the amount needed to balance the budget.

Tuesday, the city’s Tax Advisory Committee voted to recommend the City Council set the tax rate at $15.62 per $1,000 of valuation of residences and $34.72 for businesses. That would raise this year’s taxes on the average home, valued at $275,200 this year, by $288 to $4,299.

The committee also voted to ask Sarno to consider adding $2 million from the $18 million of free cash released by the state also on Tuesday to reduce that increase to about $258 for the average home.

But City Councilor Timothy Allen, who chairs the tax group and the council’s Finance Committee, said he discussed the

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