By Dan Coleman
One of the most important aspects of the job of the aldermen is the annual review of the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The budget document is 260 pages (find it on the message board page at www.townofcarrboro.org), providing line-item detail for every department.
As The Citizen reported on May 3, the proposed budget has a tax increase of 2.86 cents, $57 for a $200,000 home. It is important for citizens concerned about tax rates to understand the factors that contribute to the budget, the constraints affecting the board and the current limitations on expanded spending.
Of major significance is the impact of economic and political factors far outside our control. Until we have a state or national solution, we will continue to see health insurance costs rise. This year, United Health Care originally wanted to raise Carrboro’s premium by 19 percent. Our staff negotiated this down to 13 percent, still a pretty large increase.
Rising fuel costs are also significant as the town continues to budget for higher costs for its motor vehicle fleet operations and for the transit system.
Carrboro plans to do little that is new next year, spending only $38,000 out of $19 million for new items (0.2 percent). Several of those items will provide a return on investment, including the laser-grading of ball fields (reducing maintenance after rain), a flu shot clinic for employees (reducing sick leave) and bringing vehicle inspections in-house through the purchase of an inspection machine.
One reason we are doing so little new this year is because we are paying for what we added in the past. We have hundreds of thousands in annual cost in long-term payoffs for such investments as the Century Center, the land for Martin Luther King Jr. Park, the Adams Tract and for our sidewalks, bike paths and greenways. These debts will be paid off at various dates between 2009 and 2020.
In addition, we are constrained by anticipation of upcoming capital expenses, including the northern fire station, completion of the voter-authorized sidewalk projects and ongoing vehicle replacement. Recently, to spread the pace of tax impacts, we moved the MLK Jr. Park project back two years, from 2008-09 to 2010-11.
One item that stands out in the budget is the commitment and professionalism of Carrboro’s town staff. Put simply, our staff continues to find improved efficiencies and to take on more responsibility with minimal new hires.
Thus, in fiscal year 2004-05 there were no hires. In 2005-06, there were two police officers hired for coverage of the annexation area. This year we hired five new firefighters to begin developing staff for the soon-to-be-built northern fire station. We also hired an engineering tech for public works. In the coming year, the only new hire will be a single firefighter.
Town staff also continues to find savings from year to year. I asked the town manager about inter-departmental cooperation in costs savings and was told about initiatives between the Fire and Police Departments and efficiencies found by Public Works and Recreation & Parks.
It is helpful to look at the cost of Carrboro government in a regional context. According to a January 2007 John Locke Foundation report, the overall 2005 property tax burden per capita in Carrboro was slightly less than in Hillsborough, Morrisville and Chapel Hill, and a bit higher than Durham’s. Durham and Hillsborough have commercial tax bases several times larger than Carrboro’s but have comparable municipal property tax rates.
Each local tax rate blends its own combination of circumstances, but rates across the region are revealing as to the cost of running a local government in the Triangle area.
Looking ahead, the town is committed to economic development and has several initiatives under way. New building projects are in the pipeline for downtown. And we are in the midst of reexamining our northern small area plan, in part to identify sites that could be attractive for commercial development. Over time, this will help ease the cost to residential taxpayers.
Interested citizens should take a look at the town budget. The executive summary is only 15 pages and provides an excellent overview from which it is easy to delve further into particular areas of interest.
The board of aldermen will be holding a public hearing on the budget on May 22 at 7:30 pm. Come and let us know your ideas and concerns.
Dan Coleman is a member of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen.Â