City leaders to eye proposed budget
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on May 10, 2010 1:46 PM
Members of the Goldsboro City Council will take their first official look at a budget Tuesday morning that recommends, among other things, a 5-cent property tax increase.
A budget work session scheduled for Tuesday at 9 a.m. will also give the board an opportunity to discuss whether a 5 percent sewer rate increase and a 15 percent increase for water use are necessary to bring much-needed revenue to city coffers.
City Manager Joe Huffman is also recommending a salary freeze and the elimination of the employee Christmas party, merit pay and the ArtSmarts program.
And organizations including the Chamber of Commerce, Rebuilding Broken Places, Arts Council, WATCH, Wayne County Museum and Waynesbor-ough Park would receive 20 percent less in funding than they did last year.
Huffman warned the council several weeks ago that the upcoming budget would include a recommended tax increase that he called a "survival measure."
And he told them to expect significant cuts in the capital outlay arena -- of the $2.4 million requested for items including 10 new police cars, only $357,000 worth would be funded under the proposed budget.
Huffman's 2010-11 spending plan also recommends eliminating funding for the Wayne County Public Library, but he told the board at its meeting May 3 his "hope" is that the county government would cover the city's allocation.