Smithfield
Town Council report from May 16 session |
 |
Council members present: Emery Ashley, David Barbour, John Dunn,
Steve Rabil, Travis Scott, David Stevens, and Mayor Andy Moore
Absent: Marlon Lee
Smithfield Council
instructs manager
to craft new budget with
old tax rate
The Smithfield Town Council wants to take a look at the coming year's budget with the town's property-tax rate unchanged at 57 cents per $100 valuation. That was the consensus at the conclusion of last Thursday's fourth budget session held by the council during the past month or so.
Town Manager Mike Scott said the latest estimate from the County of Johnston's revaluation process puts the Town of Smithfield's revised property-tax base at $1,202,547,841 (that's just over 1.2-BILLION dollars). As a result, he said, the town's tax rate could be reduced this year to 52.3 cents to yield a budget for 2019-20 that's "revenue neutral," or roughly the size of the current year's budget.
Councilman Travis Scott (no relation to the town manager) was first to speak up for keeping the rate at 57 cents. "For our town to be successful, our citizens would accept leaving the rate where it is," he said, citing "growth and infrastructure" needs facing Smithfield.
"The truth of the matter is every year all expenses go up," added Councilman John Dunn. "We have so many needs."
Councilman Emery Ashley drove home the point that the 57-cent rate is a tax increase for most residents and businesses. Even so, he said, that's the only way municipal government can pay for things its citizens want. "There's no pork barrel here; there's no slush fund; and we can't rob this fund to pay that fund," he said, referring to fiscal practices of federal and state governments.
Councilman Steve Rabil didn't buck the consensus, but he did say he'd like to see how a 2-cent cut in the tax rate would affect the coming year's budget.
Town Manager Scott figures that each penny of the rate should yield about $211,000 for the coming year's budget. He said he has talked with a number of business people and most say "leave the tax rate alone."
PROPOSED BUDGET WILL RAISE STARTING SALARIES
The town manager's proposed budget will include $239,685 to bring starting salaries for town employees up to levels competitive with nearby local governments. That number comes from a salary study recently completed for the town by the Piedmont Triad Regional Council and presented to the council at Thursday's budget session.
Matt Reece of that agency, hired by the town to do the study, said Smithfield's salaries were compared with those paid by the towns of Clayton, Selma, Garner, and Knightdale and the County of Johnston.
In raising base salaries for various town positions, salaries for employees making above the minimums in their pay grades should also be raised, Mr. Reece advised.
Exactly how that will pan out wasn't discussed at Thursday's session.
COUNCIL FAVORS BUYING ANOTHER FIRE TRUCK
The council voted to move ahead with purchasing a new fire truck at an estimated cost of $565,000. Fire Chief John Blanton said the new vehicle will replace Engine No. 1, one of the department's oldest that was out of service for repairs 10 months of the past year. Town Manager Scott said the purchase shouldn't impact the coming year's budget because of the time it will take to order the truck's assembly and the likelihood that the first loan payment won't come due for another year.
COUNCIL WANTS PLANS TO ENLARGE POLICE STATION
The council instructed the town manager to budget $27,000 for design of a proposed enlargement of the Smithfield Police Station, which was built in 1997 but is already "bursting at the seams," according to Mr. Scott. An estimate provided by Stephenson General Contractors says the station's addition may cost $582,300.
TOWN WILL ELEVATE TRANSFORMER AT HOSPITAL
Town Manager Scott said he is including $120,000 in the new budget to elevate an electrical transformer at Johnston Health's Smithfield hospital that was shut down by flooding from Hurricane Matthew three years ago. "The hospital is the town's single largest electric customer," Mr. Scott noted. Two other transformers are located near the one to be raised: one is in the area that flooded but is "sealed" to prevent water damage; the other is on higher ground that wasn't flooded.
COUNCIL AGREES: NO CHANGE IN ELECTRIC RATES
The council was relieved to hear the town manager's recommendation that Smithfield's electric rates remain unchanged for now despite a recent 1.2% wholesale-rate increase from Duke Energy. A rate consultant has concluded that the town is in position to absorb that increase, Mr. Scott noted. The town could decrease "some rates" now, he added, "but it's likely we may need to raise our rates" in years just ahead because of more hikes expected from Duke.
Here's the proposed budget, posted online Friday, May 24>
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