Memorial University's pending purchase of The Battery Hotel could be a blow to the City of St. John's bottom line.

The Battery's tax bill is about $300,000 a year, but once MUN moves in, that revenue will likely disappear since the province — including MUN — does not pay municipal property taxes.

Finance committee chair Danny Breen said he's worried about the loss, calling it "an important part" of the city's income that will have to be made up through cuts elsewhere.

"We have to have a balanced budget," said Breen. "So we have to make every penny count. We want to keep our expenses as low as possible and we're just going to have to find it."

The city will introduce its 2013 budget on December 10.