Town's budget presented to council

Town Manager Bryan Edwards presented the town council with its fiscal year 2004-2005 budget on June 1. The budget does not propose a tax increase, but water and sewer rates are set to go up by 14 percent. The rate for garbage collections will remain the same, at $5 per month for residential collections.

Under the proposal, Edwards said the minimum rate for 2,000 gallons of water would increase from $7 to $8, while the minimum bill for an town resident would increase from $19 to $21.

"A better example would be for an inside resident using 5,000 gallons of water; the new charge would be $40.20, compared to $37.92 under the current rate," Edwards said. "This increase of $2.28 is slightly more than 6 percent."

In his budget message, Edwards said the proposed budget is $1,697,098, which is about a 3 percent increase over last year. The 3 percent increase, or $52,222, will mostly be made up by appropriating a portion of the town's fund balance. Edwards said that a total of $48,589 will need to be taken from the town's coffers to balance this year's budget.

"The town will continue to maintain a sufficient fund balance to insure the adequate cash flow to meet accounts payable and payroll requirements and to address emergency situations," Edwards wrote in his budget message. He noted that the amount exceeds the recommendations of the Local Government Commission, which oversees the operations of municipalities.

The town had a fund balance of about $368,902 as of last year's audit, said Kay Cox, the town's finance officer and clerk. However, she said the exact amount of the town fund balance will not be clear until after an audit is conducted of the town's finances. The fund balance amount changes daily, she said.

The police budget recommended shows an increase of 12.8 percent, or $43,800. Included in this amount is additional money to cover reserve and auxiliary officers who assist in providing patrol duty when regular officers need assistance and to cover when full-time officers are out of work. Also included is $2,000 to help pay for the cost of moving the department from the Law Enforcement Center to the Town Hall. The police force will still maintain a presence in the LEC, Edwards said last month.

In a summary of the main budget items, Edwards pointed out that the town is funding an additional four-wheel-drive police vehicle, a 5 percent increase in salaries for town employees, and an increase in health insurance premiums of 18 percent. The health insurance for the town has gone up for the past five years, Edwards noted.

This year's budget also marks the town's final payment of $31,250 to the Blue Ridge Business Development Center; the town's second payment of $20,600 on the expansion of the town cemetery, leaving one payment remaining of the same amount; and $13,500 to pay the town's portion on a matching grant to help pay for renovations of the Crouse House in Crouse Park in Sparta.

Earlier, the town manager reported that the funds will be needed to update windows and provide for other interior improvements to the aging structure.

A public hearing on the budget was set for June 22 at 6 p.m.

Neighborhood Problem

After the approval of minutes, Wendy McCall addressed the council about problems she and her husband are having regarding neighborhood upkeep. According to the McCalls, they have contacted a neighbor several times in the last couple of months, asking him to mow and pick up the trash in his yard.

"It's kind of frustrating to pick up after everybody else and to try to keep your house and yard looking nice, and the first impression people have when they turn onto Maple Street is that," she said.

Following several attempts to rectify the situation, the local branch of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was contacted, she said.

"We're aren't wanting anyone to be thrown out of their house, we just want them to clean it up," she clarified. "It's affecting other people's property with their trash."

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