BY DEBBIE PAGE
The Troutman Town Council met with Town Manager Ron Wyatt and town department heads earlier this week to look at the town’s future needs and expected revenues.
During the town’s all-day budget retreat on Monday, Finance Director Justin Mundy said keeping the town’s property tax rate at 50 cents per $100 property valuation would generate about $7,620,427 for the town’s coffers. With all the revenue streams, fee sources, and ABC distributions, Mundy conservatively projected the town would collect a total $11,336,922 in general fund revenues.
The town’s trash/recycle revenue ($614,400) is based on a $16 per month fee per residence. Residents currently pay $7.75 per month. However, recent bids for these services have come in even higher, so the fee may increase even more to reflect actual costs to the town.
The projected revenue increases in franchise and local sales taxes are from increased population and a continuation of a strong economy.
The town’s debt service for previous projects continue to decline, dropping from $526,774 this year to $434,838 in next year’s proposed budget.
Mundy said the town’s debt ratio is in “great shape,” with the ratio small (under 1 percent) compared to the total budget. Municipalities are allowed to carry up to 8 percent debt ratio, added Mundy.
GOVERNING BODY
The council discussed a possible increase in the stipend that members receive for their council service, with Eddie Nau noting that members are increasingly at organization meetings and town events in addition to time spent in council meetings, meeting preparation, and lobbying sessions and responding to constituent phone calls and emails in the rapidly growing town.
Wyatt noted the council’s compensation is appreciably lower than in other municipalities.
Wyatt also suggested adding meetings to council members’ schedules, including a mid-year budget review as well as some joint meetings with nearby municipalities’ leadership and elected officials to build relationships and explore joint opportunities.
The proposed governing body budget, without any council member raises, is $194,100, a $24,100 increase because of a full year of cyber security service added next fiscal year.
However, the council discussed pulling all IT costs off department budgets and creating a separate budget section and breaking it down there by department, so this department numbers may change in the next budget revision.
ADMINISTRATION
Mundy projected a $10,000 increase in tax collection costs to Iredell County, which takes 1.5 percent of Troutman’s taxes as a fee for its services. Salaries are increasing about $40,000 with the addition of an employee.
IT services are increasing just over $11,000 with the addition of a part-time contracted services IT representative at a fixed cost. This contractor will be on site several days a week and on call at all times as needed, which Mundy said was the most cost-effective way to get the coverage the town needs for both daily needs and 24-hour police and utility emergency IT needs.
With small increases in other line items because of inflation, the department’s budget is projected to increase $66,000 over last year, rising to $918,475 in Mundy’s proposed budget.
PASSPORT OFFICE
The passport office costs are falling from $97,308 to $72,956 with the decision to hire only part-time employees to perform the department’s duties. This change reduces personnel costs related to retirement and insurance. The office is conservatively projected to bring in $76,500 this year.
PLANNING AND ZONING
Mundy said the Planning and Zoning Department budget is expected to increase from $797,768 to $875,193. One budget line of $350,000 is for estimated fees to West Consultants for planning review services, much of which will be reimbursed by developers.
Other contracted services costs, such as $60,000 to Kimley-Horn for conducting traffic impact analyses (TIAs) for residential and commercial developments, will also be reimbursed by developers. Having the town instead of developers contract for the TIAs will give the town more influence on traffic mitigating decisions.
Salaries will also rise with Associate Planner Andrew Ventresca being promoted to Assistant Planning Director, with transportation projects and issues assigned to his position.
POLICE DEPARTMENT
Salaries for the police department are projected to rise from $1,591,085 to $1,788,832 with the addition of two additional police officers to meet demand for coverage for training, vacations, and population growth.
The additional employees will also increase costs for retirement, insurance, training, equipment, fuel, and uniforms. However, no additional vehicles are needed.
Chief Josh Watson is also adding a lieutenant position and a records/customer service position to the department. The additional administrative lieutenant position will relieve the detective from administrative duties to focus entirely on investigations.
Watson said all promotions are in house to increase morale and opportunity unless no one in the department has the qualifications necessary for a position.
Watson is also requesting $130,000 in capital outlay to upgrade handheld and patrol car radios (required by January 2025 because of requirement for Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) capability), side arm upgrades (paid for partially by trading in current weapons), and two drones (two officers are already FFA trained to operate them).
With small increases in other areas, the department’s 2024-2025 budget is projected to increase by just over $450,000 over this fiscal year.
Watson said the department received 14 applications for the two officer positions, indicating that Troutman’s department is becoming known as a positive place to work.
STREET DEPARTMENT
Mundy said salaries are nearly doubling in the Street Department because a Public Works employee is being reallocated to this department since most of his duties were street-related.
The department is also requesting a new mechanic assistant position to assist the town’s mechanic, who is responsible for all town department’s vehicles and some other mechanical equipment.
The supply costs line item is also up because of increasing part costs ($16,000 to $30,000). Street repair costs are rising from $20,000 to $600,000 because of two large projects, Iredell Avenue and the repaving of the town parking lot across from the passport office, coming up this year.
Council members discussed the possibility of increasing the size of the town lot to accommodate growing parking needs, but Wyatt said if the Lytton Street extension is still a priority, that lot could be developed into additional commercial building space and the town parking lot moved to the two properties the town acquired south of the current parking area.
Street sweeping costs are rising from $50,000 to $70,000 because of an increased number of town streets with new developments.
Mundy will also add employee training funds to this department in his next version of the proposed budget.
SANITATION
Sanitation costs continue to rise, with the leaf and limb pickup rising from $130,000 to $150,000, garbage collection from $185,000 to an estimated $452,000, and recycling increasing from $105,000 to $259,200, totaling an all-services increase from $420,000 this year to $861,200 in fiscal year 2024-2025, based on 3,200 households.
However, an additional 40 to 75 residences are added to Troutman services each month, which will make that cost continue to rise each month.
Increases are occurring because of increased residences and because of the acquisition of BSS by Republic Services, which imposed a substantial increase in collection costs (from $9.61 to $17 monthly per residential household next fiscal year).
With BSS no longer providing service, businesses will no longer get trash service and must contract with whatever carrier they choose.
The town investigated starting its own trash collection services ($600,000 per truck, plus employees and operational costs) but decided contracting was more cost-effective.
To get nearer the projected actual garbage costs, a service provided by the town that should not impact the general fund, council members are considering increasing the cost to each residence to as much as $18.52 per month.
PARKS AND RECREATION
The Parks and Recreation Department budget for 2024-2025 had an increase in salaries ($250,525 to $354,381) and associated benefit costs because of additional positions, with the staff now at five full-time and four part-time employees.
The department oversees all greenways and parks mowing and maintenance, the Depot, special town events, and facility rentals.
Director Emily Watson is adding $4,000 in additional training funds so her staff can obtain needed certifications and $10,000 in vehicle maintenance since her department now has several vehicles under its umbrella.
Watson also requested $19,500 more for department, recreation, and office supplies for the park and greenway system. An additional $10,000 in special events cost (up to $55,000) is requested to reflect higher expenses, as well as $5,000 to market town events and $55,000 for continuing ESC Park upgrades.
The total requested budget increase is increasing from $542,302 this year to $747,960 in fiscal year 2024-25.
Watson also said construction on the pickleball and basketball courts planned for the park (near the volleyball court area) will begin in May.
OTHER GENERAL FUND BUDGET ITEMS
For Troutman’s economic development, Mundy requested $350,000 in downtown enhancement, $24,000 in tax incentives, and $27,656 in Iredell Economic Development Corporation dues.
He also requested $165,000 for capital building expenditures, $200,000 for required town insurance and bonds (expected to rise 5 to 16 percent according to recent guidance from the League of Municipalities), and $175,000 in contingencies, with an eye to replacing a 15-year-old HVAC system at Town Hall if problems continue.
Other transfers of funds to projects include $325,000 to the ESC Park concession and lighting fund, which now stands at $975,000 with savings over the last three years, and another $1,275,000 to the new Town Hall fund, now totaling $2,550,070.
Wyatt said the cost for ESC Park lighting has now increased $50,000 to $950,000 since their last estimate. After assessing expensive grading costs near the baseball fields, Wyatt said with the concession stand funds on hand and additional state money hopefully on the way, the Parks and Recreation Department will hopefully start the design-build bidding process in the near future.
Other fund transfers are $70,000 to economic development, $10,000 for industrial recruitment, $100,000 to the greenway fund, $60,000 to a future pocket park opportunity (possibly the 14 acres the town will receive from the Wakefield development), and $250,000 to the capital project fund, some of which may be used to offset increased costs of the Talley and Wagner street sidewalk projects, which are still in NCDOT review limbo.
Mayor Teross Young wants the town to look at distributing grants to upgrade facades on downtown buildings with some of the industrial recruitment money accumulated over the years.
UTILITY FUND
Utility fund revenues are projected to rise from $5,263,595 this fiscal year to $6,591,440, mostly due to new customers coming online. The department is anticipating 400 lots being added to water and sewer availability with required fees in the next fiscal year.
Utility administration costs for employees, billing, software and banking costs, and customer service are rising from $599,954 to $778,660. All front office staff is now paid out of the utility fund.
Capital outlay costs are projected to fall as past projects are paid, falling from $1,548,456 in June of 2023 to $771,956 by the end of fiscal year 2025.
Water and sewer service costs, including employees, facilities, water and sewer meters and supplies, water and sewer purchases, equipment, and two requested additional buildings (1 office, 1 equipment storage), were projected by Mundy to reach $5,040,824, up from $3,723,872 this fiscal year, if the council agreed to all of the department’s requests.
Public Works Director Austin Waugh said his current staff of seven is stretched to the max to maintain services and add additional homes and businesses to the system. He requested seven additional employees to keep up with the town growth and increasing state requirements and mandates.
When council members asked the absolute minimum of employees he required, Waugh said three were most needed, with two in wastewater and one in water.
The new office building ($300,000) is being requested because of leaks and mold present in the Public Works current facility. The three-sided storage area building ($250,000) was requested to keep expensive equipment out of the elements. Parking lot grading ($50,000) is also being requested to increase usable area for the department.
When the council asked which was the priority, Waugh said the three-sided building for equipment as most urgent.
The department is also requesting $50,000 to $100,000 for Westmoreland right-of-way creek repair.
The department also requested two generators for pump stations (one is currently inoperative), a sewer camera, a utility locator, a bush hog, and a 25,000-pound 4-post lift, totaling about $186,000. The council asked that the second generator and bush hog requests be delayed until a mid-year budget review.
The department also anticipates having to purchase more sewer capacity at a cost of $466,400.
Waugh also proposed Troutman consider getting its own diesel fuel station for $50,000, with fuel being purchased with a two-step tracking verification at a local gas station. Mundy said it would take at least eight years to break even on savings if the council approved this request.
Councilman Paul Henkel favored the four additional requested employees, the lower priority generator and equipment, parking lot, offices, and fuel station be placed in a contingency line in the budget, which could be considered later by the council if funds allow and the council deems them needed.
NEXT STEPS
Mundy will take the council’s and department directors’ input and revise the proposed budget for further discussion and review. Final 2024-25 budget approval, after a public inspection period and a public hearing, is expected to be at the June 13 Town Council meeting.