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Harrisburg holds the line on tax rates
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Published: June 10, 2009
After months of planning, discussion and debate over the fiscal year 2009-10 budget, it took the Harrisburg Town Council a matter of minutes to unanimously approve the document, which holds the current property and fire tax rates and maintains the same water/sewer fees for most Harrisburg customers.
The $10 million budget represents a 1.42 percent increase over the current year's budget. council members voted to maintain a property tax rate of 12.5 cent per $100 valuation and a fire tax of 7.5 cents per $100 valuation.
In more specific terms, a homeowner with a property valued at $250,000 will pay $312.50 in property taxes and $187.50 in fire taxes.
The budget also holds the water and sewer rates at the current fee structure for in-town customers and creates a unified rate structure for customers outside the Harrisburg town limits. About 480 customers outside the town limits will be converted from a usage-based fee structure to a flat rate of $34.84. This move will bring all out-of-town customers under the same rate structure, according to Michele Reapsmith, the town's finance director and interim town manager.
Reapsmith said this year's budget process was different in that she requested participation from all the town's department heads in an effort to better understand their needs.
"I realized during this process that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to fully cover all areas as requested by the department managers, but I believe that each department has a representative percentage of the resources available," Reapsmith wrote in a letter to the council that accompanied the final budget.
Despite difficult economic times, Reapsmith said the budget maintains the town's current staff and does not eliminate any existing positions.
The budget includes funds to bring the salaries of some town employees more in line with market values and allows for some merit-based pay increases for high-performing staff.
With the budget process complete, council members praised Reapsmith for her efforts with the budget, especially during a difficult fiscal season.
"Over the years I've been serving with the town, I think this process is the best process we've been through," said mayor Tim Hagler. "Here it is the first of the month and we're already through that."
In accordance with state law, municipalities must approve a budget before the start of the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1.
Town opposes portion of state budget
The town's budget wasn't the only one discussed at Monday's meeting, as the council voted on a resolution standing against the state's proposed budget, and more specifically a proposal to require all emergency personnel, including public works, hospital, fire and law enforcement, to pay for continuing education courses.
If those costs were passed on to the municipalities, such a move, Reapsmith said, would cost Harrisburg nearly $124,000.
"They (state legislators) haven't come up with any grant opportunities or any ways to help municipalities out in terms of funding," Reapsmith said. "This resolution is coming from our local perspective. It's going to be very negative for us, and we want them to consider that when they are making these decisions. For a town of our size, $124,000 is very material. A lot of towns aren't going to be able to afford it."
Whether or not the council's resolution will impact legislators' thinking on the proposed state cuts remains to be seen, but councilman Bob Scaggs said sending a message as a council is important.
"Sometimes it seems like an exercise in futility, but the only way to get your voice heard is to send those letters," he said. "I think it's a worthwhile endeavor to try to fight for what we want here at a local level. Raleigh's not going to hear it if we don't send those letters."
Cowherd announces candidacy for mayor
Also during the meeting, councilman Phil Cowherd announced his plans to run for mayor in the upcoming election season, making him the first candidate to publically announce his intentions to seek the seat, currently filled by Tim Hagler.
Candidates cannot officially file until July 3. Election day is Nov. 3.
• Contact managing editor Jonathan E. Coleman at 704-789-9105
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