Mount Olive board proposes 5-cent property tax increase
By Steve Herring
Published in News on May 5, 2015 1:46 PM
MOUNT OLIVE -- A proposed $6.26 million budget that includes a 5-cent increase in the town's property tax rate was unveiled during Monday night's town board meeting.
The proposal includes $3.5 million in the general fund, up from $3.13 million, and $2.75 million in the water/sewer fund, up from $2.57 million.
The board will hold a public hearing on the budget when it meets on Monday, June 1. The budget can be approved once the hearing is held.
A copy of the budget is available for public inspection at town hall up until the night of the public hearing.
The 5-cent tax increase takes the rate from 59 to 64 cents per $100 of property value.
It is the first tax rate increase in nearly 30 years, Town Manager Charles Brown said.
The increase is basically to cover the lost revenues as well as an increase in expenses -- particularly ensuring the police department is well equipped, Brown said.
If approved the rate would brig in an estimated $1.473,333 in taxes compared to the current year estimate of $1,253,120.
"This is, as most of our budgets are, a sort of no-frills projection of the money that we have coming in and what expenditures are going to be," Brown told the board. "We had to absorb either a fair number of revenue losses or expense increases."
The proposal includes a 2.5 percent across-the-board salary increase. However, some employees can expect more.
"We have some public works employees, guys who work in the water department, who are working real close to the poverty level for a family of four," Brown said. "We have tried to add a little more money to them to get them up above that level.
"We have also tried to add more money for entry level in the police department so that we are at least at the average, or maybe a little above the average for the entry level for this area."
By far the largest increase is in the police department, whose budget would be increased by $175,100 growing from $996,143 to $1,171,243.
The bulk of that is the result of the pay hike and equipment purchases, Brown said.
Also, the town is paying a total of $30,000 in retirement supplements to two retired offices. Officers who retire after 30 years receive a supplement of almost $15,000 until they turn 62, he said.
No fund balance was used to balance the budget.
The town is having to absorb a projected 19-percent increase in insurance premiums totaling more than $42,000, Brown said.
That is on top of a loss of $50,000 in privilege license revenues that were eliminated by state lawmakers.
The budget also includes $50,000 match for a major renovation project at the Carver Cultural Center and a $112,000 match for a new force main on Northeast Church Road.
"Our goal, when we work on a budget, is not to spend everything that comes in because we never know what is going to happen -- if have an emergency or need a rainy day fund," he said. "We have been successful over the years in putting a fund balance aside.
"A fund balance is required by the (state) Local Government Commission, but the amount they require you to have is not enough to get you through a tough situation."