Proposed budget
for the Town of Smithfield |
 |
A rundown of what's included
in the town manager's
budget
Here are highlights of what's included in Town Manager Mike Scott's proposal :
• It's balanced using the current property-tax rate of 57 cents per $100 even after countywide revaluation that raised assessments for most residents and business. A "revenue neutral" tax rate after revaluation would be 52.3 cents, Mr. Scott notes.
• Electric rates will remain unchanged, even after a 1.2% increase in the wholesale rate the town pays ElectricCities (ultimately, Duke Energy) that took effect April 1. The manager points out that Smithfield has reduced its average residential rate by 12 percent since 2016, when long-standing indebtedness incurred by ElectriCities was absorbed by Duke Energy.
• Water rates as well as monthly fees for garbage and trash pickup will also remain unchanged, while sewer rates will rise by 10% to cover a 10% increase in what the County of Johnston plans to charge the town, starting July 1, for wastewater treatment at the regional plant originally built by the Town of Smithfield but turned over to the county some years ago.
• In addition to salary adjustments July 1 to make the town more competitive with nearby local governments, especially regarding starting pay, Mr. Scott's proposal calls for a 2.5% pay adjustment for all town employees in January. His budget includes a 9% increase in the town's annual contribution to North Carolina's Local Government Employees Retirement System --- a requirement mandated by state legislation. And it includes a 5% increase in the cost of providing health insurance for town employees.
• Just two new employees are included in Mr. Scott's budget: one for an assistant finance director; the other to convert a part-time administrative assistant's job in the Fire Department to a full-time position.
• The General Fund's capital budget includes $285,000 for Parks and Recreation equipment and improvements including a new "splash park" at Smith-Collins Park, $200,600 to replace seven police cars, $160,000 for 19 new "air packs" for the Fire Department, and $80,000 toward replacement of a "knuckle boom truck" in the Sanitation Department. In addition, $1 million is coming out of town reserves to pay for repairs to Equity Drive near the Outlet Center, including a new sidewalk on one side, and $93,000 to upgrade overhead lighting at I-95's Exit 95 (US 70 Business). The proposed budget earmarks $260,000 from state Powell Bill funding for street resurfacing --- the same amount that was budgeted this past year.
• Town operations receiving the largest of General Fund appropriations: Police Department, $4,037,838; Fire Department, $2,169,318; Streets, $1,491,371; Sanitation, $1,287,765; Parks & Recreation, $1,013,1025; and the Smithfield Recreation and Aquatics Center, $981,173. Mr. Scott notes in his budget message that the SRAC "operates at a loss of over $700,000 annually." That figure includes debt service on the facility of $474,920 (which will be paid off in 2028). Revenues from fees charged SRAC users and renters covers much but not all of the SRAC's operating expenses, accounting for the balance of the loss cited by Mr. Scott.
• Debt service covered by the General Fund will total $981,173 in the year ahead. The bulk of that amount is for principal and interest on two loans remaining for the SRAC's construction totaling $5,625,000, a loan of $2,806,400 for the "Smithfield Crossing" street project near the Outlet Center, and a new loan of $1,126,105 for a 100-foot ladder truck for the Fire Department.
• Principal General Fund revenues anticipated during the coming year include: $6,781,000 from property taxes: $3,443,000 from "unrestricted intergovernmental revenue," which includes an estimated $2.4 million from local sales taxes plus lesser amounts from franchise taxes, beer and wine taxes, and an excise tax on vehicle rentals; and $2,412,236 from "sales and services," including fees for garbage and trash collection as well as parks and recreation fees.
• The town's Water and Sewer Fund is self-supporting, meaning customer charges for water and sewer services cover costs of operations as well as capital improvements. Capital projects in the proposed budget include a second million-gallon storage tank at the water-treatment plant and completion of a 16-inch water line along Durwood Stephenson Highway.
• The town's Electric Fund is also self-sustaining. Included in that section of the proposed budget is $950,000 to design and construct the "North Circuit" project to expand electrical service along the new extension of Booker Dairy Road and properties to the north of that, $500,000 for "advanced metering" of service to industrial as well residential customers, and $300,000 to continue the Brogden Road substation's "voltage conversion" project.
• Mr. Scott's budget recommends renewal of appropriations at current levels to various non-profit organizations, including the Ava Gardner Museum, Triangle East Chamber of Commerce (formerly Smithfield-Selma Chamber), Community and Senior Services, and Harbor. He proposes an increase in the town's support of the Public Library of Johnston County and Smithfield (to $270,000, up from $250,000) and adds the Innovation Academy at South Campus to the list of Smithfield schools receiving $1,000 grants apiece: Smithfield-Selma High, Smithfield Middle, South Smithfield and West Smithfield elementary, and Neuse Charter.
• The manager's budget reflects a new funding arranagement for the General Fund contribution to the Downtown Smithfield Development Corporation. It reduces the town's appropriation to $43,316, down from $55,000, but increases property-tax collections dedicated to DSDC to $106,744, up from $89,007. "This is due to automobile taxes that are being defaulted to the (town's) biggest taxing amount, which is our downtown," Mr. Scott explained to the Sun. "Since we cannot separate out exactly what belongs in the downtown coffers and what does not, we provided them (DSDC) with all the revenue and adjusted it on the donation end." In sum, that produces a $6,000 increase in funding for DSDC in Mr. Scott's proposal.
Examine the proposed budget in full on the town's website>