The town of Wadesboro passed its $8 million budget on June 28.
The budget includes a tax at the rate of 55.6 cents per $100 valuation of property and a fire district tax rate of 9.6 cents per $100 valuation.
Water, sewer and trash rates were unaffected, except for an option trash charge of $31.50 for services for some non-residential customers.
Some fees are increased. A rezoning request previously cost $175, but the new budget bumped that up to $250.
Town Manager Alex Sewell and the town council have said at multiple meetings that revenues from the fire district tax rate increase are intended to be used for the construction of a new town fire department. Replacing the current department — which does not meet department space needs, and has asbestos and a leaky roof, among other problems — was named as a top priority at the council’s retreat earlier this year.
The budget puts $5,761,066 in the town’s general fund and $2,776,082 in the water and sewer enterprise fund. Sewell noted in his budget message that he considers his revenue projections to be conservative.
About $75,000 of the general fund’s budget is marked for the town’s contingency fund.
Funded
The town opted to donate $2,500 to the Christmas parade, and to purchase six Tasers for $7,050 and four bullet-proof vests for the police department.
A new fire station made it into the budget with $1,140,000 earmarked for the project. The council committed to using $1.1 million through a debt service and $40,000 from reserve funds.
A street sweeper will be converted into a dump truck for a total of about $25,000 using fund balance reserves.
The town plans to purchase 2,496 trash cans for its new automated garbage truck for $114,704, though only $36,000 will be a net expense for this fiscal year.
The town also budgeted for utility work for the veterans memorial, street paving, fire and police department gear and other items.
Not funded
The town did not include paperless agenda software for an annual $3,600, or a pull-down screen and projector the council room for $2,000, in the budget.
A new police car ($31,000),two-way radios ($15,425) and handguns ($4,499) for the department were also not funded.
A new ladder truck for the fire department would cost $700,000, with $51,000 as a net expense for this fiscal year. The council planned to use contingency or reserve funds if awarded a FEMA grant for the truck, but it did not make the budget.
Some equipment for the street department, including a $80,000 backhoe and $45,000 tar kettle, were not funded. A new $250,000 facility and two mobile lifts for $40,000 also didn’t make the cut.
Requested items for the sanitation department, including a $200,000 street sweeper and $200,000 leaf machine, were not funded. Multiple requested items for the water and sewer department, including a dump truck, pickup truck and generators, were also not included.
Complications
Sewell’s budget message included before the proposed budget was optimistic.
“Despite the obvious challenges, the General Fund continues to trend toward financial sustainability,” he wrote. “Prior to FY 2014-15, the town was faced with increasing budget deficits over the course of approximately seven fiscal years. To maintain the same level of services, the town opted to cover these increasing budget deficits by increasingly spending fund balance reserves. While being able to weather economic downturns without cutting services is one of the many reasons to maintain a healthy fund balance, using reserves to cover budget deficits is not financially sustainable in the long-term.”
Compared to the 2009-10 fiscal year, revenues have increased and expenditures have slightly decreased. In FY 2009-10, revenues were $3,666,228 and expenditures were $3,870,955.
In FY 2014-15, revenues equaled $4,133,567 and expenditures were $3,672,889.
In the budget message, Sewell attributed the improvement to “tough” decisions and a better economy across the state, helping the town to make its revenues exceed expenditures for the first time in seven years in FY 2014-15.
Even with the improvement, Sewell noted three main concerns for the town’s financial future: current and probable future population declines reducing revenues, delaying capital purchases needed to continue town services and rising health insurance costs draining town funds.
Sewell warned that this could mean the town will need to make more tough decisions regarding services and taxes in the future; however, he noted that frequent tax increases paired with a declining population rarely solve the problem.
“Given this reality, the recommendation is to focus on a long-term strategy where the town increases its revenues by growing our economic tax base, and not through repeated large tax increases in the future,” Sewell noted. “Other communities have successfully employed a number of strategies including the creation of a business/industrial park site and making downtown areas more attractive. Notably, the town’s proposed business/industrial park, while still in its beginning stages, is a step toward trying to stimulate economic growth.”
The budget was passed with a unanimous vote. Councilman Fred Davis was not present.
The council’s next regular meeting was rescheduled to 5 p.m. July 11 due to the normal meeting time falling on the Fourth of July.
Reach reporter Imari Scarbrough at 704-994-5471 and follow her on Twitter @ImariScarbrough.