Taxes Cut, Spending Flat in New Town Budget

The Town Council approved a new budget last week that leaves spending at about last year's levels and reduces property taxes.

Electric rates and solid waste pickup rates will hold steady, though water and sewer rates will get a minor bump to cover an increase from Johnston County, the town's water supplier. This will be the fourth straight year that electric rates have held steady.

The Council also restored the position of Property Maintenance Technician, which was cut last year when the stumbling economy forced the town to eliminate 11 positions. Town Manager Steve Biggs said the loss "has adversely impacted necessary maintenance operations." The new budget also restores regular hours to the Construction Inspector and Customer Service Representative/Records Clerk positions and provides town employees, whose salaries will continue to be frozen, with a two percent, one-time bonus, if this year's revenues meet expectations.

"This is a good budget," the Town Manager said. "The town has become very skilled at savings."

An improving economy is part of the reason for the good budget news, but the main reason, Biggs says, it the determination of town employees to find a way to continue delivering services at a high level despite the cutbacks of recent years. The town has learned how to do more with less, he said.

The $36.8 million budget total is larger than last year's scaled down $36.1 million figure, mainly due to increased electric power sales, but it's still much smaller than before the recession.   

The town's property tax rate of $0.54 per $100 of property valuation, which has held steady over the last few years, will be going down $0.525 per $100 of property valuation so that a recent revaluation of property won't result in residents paying more property taxes. The move protects residents while allowing the town to get about the same amount of tax money.

Projects such as the two new parks in East Clayton and the nearly completed Law Enforcement Center downtown will continue as planned.  

After several years of growth, the town was hit with decreasing revenues four years ago as the stumbling economy played havoc with both local and state budgets all over the country. As a result, the town's budget was scaled down with increasing severity each of the last three years, culminating with the loss of town jobs for the first time in history last year. But, despite the hardship, the town has steadfastly refused to raise taxes or otherwise place a greater financial burden on residents.