Huffman: City must balance progress, budget
By Anessa Myers
Published in News on October 29, 2008 1:46 PM
News-Argus/GREG SOUSA
Goldsboro City Manager Joe Huffman delivers a presentation on the current and future development plans for the city during a Goldsboro Rotary meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008 at Goldsboro Country Club.
News-Argus/GREG SOUSA
Goldsboro City Manager Joe Huffman delivers a presentation on the current and future development plans for the city during a Goldsboro Rotary meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008 at Goldsboro Country Club.
City officials are trying to make the community a better place.
That's what City Manager Joe Huffman told Goldsboro Rotarians Tuesday.
After listing projects that have been completed over the last few years, including building the new Self-Help homes on South John Street, the City Hall renovation and rebuilding the Paramount Theatre, he said there are still some on the horizon, like the Community Center.
And, he said, there is still more that needs to be done.
One area that needs help in particular is transportation.
"We do have issues (with public transportation). We do have features that are less than accurate," he said.
But he hopes to correct that with projects like restoring Union Station.
"This is going to be a multi-modal station, viable for both commuter and passenger rail service," he said.
He added that the stabilization of the building should be complete by December, restoration of the building is expected to be complete within the next few years, and GATEWAY should move into the building in two years' time.
"We expect to have rail service through Union Station within the next seven years," he said.
He also told the group that a Civic Center could be in the city's future, but with all of the other projects under way and with more in the pipeline, the city will need to look elsewhere for assistance.
"It's difficult to do this alone," he said. "We are looking for a partnership with the county here. I also don't think that it's moving along quite as the City Council would like it to."
He said city officials are going to be meeting in upcoming months with Chamber of Commerce and county officials to discuss the future of the center.
But there are challenges that city officials face, he said, like "doing more with less" and "making investments that yield returns in the near future."
"We try to do things that take care of our long-term needs. ... We try to develop sound long-term strategies to meet infrastructure needs," he said. "We use sound management principles to forecast fiscal needs."
To make the city a better place for its citizens in the future, however, officials need to keep investing in infrastructure and other improvements, he said.
And that total so far in recent projects -- not including sidewalk improvements throughout the city and other small items -- totaled over $42 million.
But with the tally of projects and money came questions from the Rotarians.
L.J. Stanley told Huffman he has spoken with representatives from Hilton and Marriott hotels, and once the rail service comes to Goldsboro, he said they would be interested in coming to the city.
"And they build their own convention centers," Stanley said.
Huffman said if those companies would come to the city with a plan, it would be positive news for the city.
"Public-private partnerships are a good thing," he said.
Planning Commission chairman Chris Boyette said he has heard from some residents that the city might be doing "too much too fast."
"With looking at the long range plan ... how are we going to fund these projects without an increase in taxes related to the projects and how much they cost?" Boyette asked.
"I'm thinking what we're doing is investing in the city. ... How do you not do the things we're doing? How do you not invest in your city? Our plan is that we'll increase the tax base without a big increase in the tax rate," Huffman said. "Will taxes go up? They might. But you have to spend money to create wealth. If we don't invest, I think the taxes will go up, the city will fall into more disrepair, and ruin the tax base."
"And to speak on that, I'll agree," Boyette replied. "We either move forward, and it'll cost us. Or we stand still, and it'll cost us."