To the Editor:
The burden of oppressive municipal taxes that we are experiencing in the Town of Troutman could be alleviated if we had a budget-conscious town manager or at least adequate budget supervision and oversight.
Mr. Wyatt’s comments on a local radio show last week about designing and building a new multi-million dollar town hall in Troutman raise red flags. Apparently, he has been traveling around the state with an architect touring towns with elite town hall structures. Why is this proposed excessive expenditure being allowed when there are much better options that would save taxpayer money?
For example, the new North Fork Business Park in Troutman could be an ideal situation for town hall. The developer has indicated he can “build-to-suit” with adequate space ready to accommodate a Troutman Town Hall complex; and, with more feasible expenditures that would save on purchase of a more expensive property and expensive architectural fees. We need a practical and common sense approach to this proposed town hall.
Troutman is overwhelmed with infrastructure needs. Our schools are overcrowded, our roads are inadequate, our utilities are inadequate, and, over development is out of control. Why waste taxpayer money on a “showplace” when being fiscally responsible is best practice for serving the needs of our citizens?
C J Thompson
Troutman
I couldn’t agree with you more. Troutman was just a small town & only had two traffic lights. Now lights are popping in some places they’re not really needed and no light where one should truly be; for example, at Exit 45 getting on/off the interstate and at the intersection of Main St. & Old Murdock. And also the ones that are up need to be linked with one another. SIHS, I know, is overwhelmed with students and can’t keep staff and as a result in my opinion has gone down hill in the past few years. They need to get the schools and roads straight before spending that amount for an upgraded building.
CJ Thompson has presented an excellent idea for the new town hall. Let’s hope the mayor and council are paying attention. I support this idea to put a town hall complex in the North Fork Business Park, and Butch Bouwens can be trusted to do a great job. We just need nice basic buildings that are well constructed and centrally located. Let the town manager forgo his Taj Mahal. If you citizens are tired of being squeezed by an over inflated budget and unnecessary spending, then speak up and let the council hear from you!
Schools should be the top priority! How can town officials justify spending millions on a fancy new town hall when our schools are so dangerously over crowded? Good teachers are resigning because of extreme conditions; parents are being forced to search for charter schools or home schooling as an alternative. That is unAmerican! The current town municipal buildings are serving their purpose just fine; yet the unfortunate kids in Troutman schools are missing out on a decent education because of poor planning coming from town hall!
EDITOR: Other than providing school resource officers, the Town of Troutman government plays virtually no role in public schools.
The fact that Troutman plays no role in public schools is part of the problem. Progressive towns & cities “supplement” teacher pay and provide needed resources for students that the state budget doesn’t cover. Extra nurses and counselors would be a good start! But this is Troutman, so let the kids suffer their hardships while the town staff is provided a multi million dollar office complex? Something is wrong with that picture!
The Editor’s comment is absolutely correct. Education is the responsibility of and 100 percent funded by the County. If you have concerns regarding our “County” education system, you need to reach out to the county commissioners.
Folks: Don’t forget schools are the responsibility of the county, and are paid for by your county taxes. The town has very little to do with them.
The town manager does not like being told what to do. We see this at every town meetings. In Troutman, the elected officials report to the town manager. Wake up, taxpayers.
The fact that the town has one park….only one small park is ridiculous. Also, the ‘downtown’ has been in a development stagnation for 20 years. No residential development in downtown will make sure the center will fail and Troutman will be another Hunterville (without all the commerce).
The town hall being built and owned by the town on land that the town owns really makes sense. I wouldn’t want my tax dollars going towards lining the pockets of some landlord that extorts the taxpayers by charging rent in perpetuity for a town hall complex. Once their 10-year lease is up and the town needed to hire 50 more employees, you’re going to have the same problem but now the landlord is going to want 30 percent more rent so they can buy a third vacation home in Cozumel.
The schools are run by the county and most of the streets are managed by the NCDOT. Don’t blame the town for those shortcomings.
What if there’s a flood or electrical problem and the town can’t process payments? You’re going to spend more time having lawyers arguing that it’s the town’s responsibility vs. the landlord’s responsibility while your water gets shut off and the lawyers keep getting billable hours to drag this out. Ultimately, we the taxpayers save more when the town owns the structures and the land.
Yes, we know schools are funded by the state, but towns that prioritize education and support their children’s success “supplement” the state budget. How much better would it be to add additional resources for our students: nurses, counselors, more updated computer labs, laptops, etc etc….When it comes to budget, the town manager seems to find money to cover the cost of his personal golf cart, in addition to his overly inflated salary and extravagant auto allowance. (especially since he doesn’t have any of the professional college criteria required for the job). Now he’s pushing for a multi million dollar town hall? That should not be high on the list until the old sewer pipes get replaced and more infrastructure problems are corrected. If school kids can adapt to over crowded buildings, so can the town staff.
We should think about how we spend this money. Instead of a town hall, help business in this town.