The budget, which initially appeared to exclude any new staff and include only minimal supplemental requests from staff, will ultimately add 34 of the 35 requested additions and a total of 13 new full-time equivalent staff positions, according to budget documents.
The council also approved its tax rate of $0.56 per $100 valuation of a home, which is the same tax rate as last year, documents show.
Long story short
Out of a budget that, all told, totals about $96.3 million, the city’s general fund will total about $19.3 million, the largest general fund the city has had, according to previous budget reports.
It is up from last year’s general fund total of $15.7 million, documents show.
Meanwhile, the tax rate of $0.56 is higher than the no-new-revenue rate of $0.539339, according to city documents. However, it is the same rate as last year and will result in a bill of $2,014 for a median home valued at $359,719.
How this new bill could compare to previous bills will depend on whether a resident’s home went up in value compared to last year.
Diving in deeper
Some of the highlights in the budget include an increase in sales tax revenue, totaling nearly $1.5 million more compared to last year. Officials with the city have attributed this increase to new businesses opening in town, including a new Lowe’s Home Improvement store expected to open later this year.
Of the new employees the city is bringing on, six will go to the police department, bringing the force’s total to 157 members, documents show.
The city’s new staff total is anticipated to be 131 members in FY 2025-26, documents show. The budget also includes a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for full-time employees.
Of the 35 supplemental requests—which can include items such as equipment or certain projects, such as parks—34 were ultimately approved, totaling $2.75 million, budget documents show.
The city’s capital fund, the largest fund in the city’s budget, totals $55.2 million, which is up from last year’s $11.2 million but still down from budgets in years prior, when the fund ranged between $94 million and $101 million.
How we got here
The budget cycle for the city was something officials had previously described as challenging.
Several factors, including rising costs, more facilities to maintain, such as the new police station, and tax incentives eating away at new revenue, made it more difficult to bring in necessary staff while also keeping the tax rate flat, Community Impact previously reported.
Originally, the budget city staff had presented in the summer showed no new staff and minimal supplemental additions. Conversations over the next several meetings landed on an idea to dip into the city’s fund balance to cover any additional needs.
All told, the city is planning to use $2 million out of the fund balance with an additional $1 million as an option later down the road, Community Impact previously reported. Mayor Dan Davis in August described the fund balance as “pretty bloated.”
“It seems like the general consensus is that ... we’d rather put that money to good use for the community,” he said.
The decision allowed for both new staff and supplemental additions. The city’s general fund balance, as a result, is anticipated to total around $7.5 million, which will still cover several months of operations for the city in the case of an emergency.
What they said
During a workshop prior to approval, a couple of council members said they wanted to take a more active approach in discussing the budget throughout the year.
Council member Keith Bonner said he wanted to review the budget mid-year, for example. Council member Harry Opliger said he wanted to be more proactive in making certain decisions, such as whether the city needed more staff in the new budget.
“I get it that we’re growing,” Opliger said. “But it’s just really a tough pill to swallow ... when it’s late in the year.”
The council also praised city staff for their work on putting the budget together.
