Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker said the central bank would still be adding stimulus to the economy after it begins tapering its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases.

“I don’t view tapering as cutting back on stimulus,” Lacker said Thursday in response to audience questions after a speech in Newport News, Virginia. The Fed is merely “reducing the pace at which we are adding stimulus.”

The Federal Open Market Committee next month will probably reduce its asset purchases at a Sept. 17-18 meeting, according to 65 percent of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

The committee’s first step may be small, with monthly purchases tapered by $10 billion to a $75 billion pace, according to the median estimate in a survey of 48 economists conducted Aug. 9-13. The Fed will probably end the buying by mid-2014, they said.