Initial town plan includes no tax hike, few big projects

Posted May 11, 2009 at 2:00 pm and filed under City.

By Paul Tambasco
City Editor

It doesn’t take long to see the difference between Garner’s operating budget this year and last. A glance at the document does the trick, according to the guy responsible for balancing it.

“It’s definitely thinner,” said Town Manager Hardin Watkins, whose office presented the Town Council with its recommended budget last week.

Watkins is not exaggerating. Last year, the portion covering decision packages alone – with its $1.3 million in new projects – was more than half an inch thick, bound in a spiral notebook. Contrast that with this year’s, which is 19 pages and held with a single staple. The document includes projects totaling about $200,000.

Missing are big capital expenses such as funding for a new Town Hall and an expansion to Garner Police headquarters. This year, maintenance staff for White Deer Park and sidewalks in North Garner are the big-ticket items.

Amid a national recession, Watkins says the aim is to remain afloat.

“Our primary goal is to bridge ourselves until it gets better. Let’s get through this,” he said. “We’re not going to have any dramatic expansions. …We’re just sort of reacting and hoping to get to next year.”

Without major capital expenses, the overall budget dropped by 12.8 percent – or $3.4 million – from last year, to $23.3 million. Part of that drop is from a projected revenue shortfall for 2008-2009 of $557,000. Most of that is a result of reduced sales tax and a decline in building permits and investment revenue.

Not all doom and gloom

The recession has decimated consumer spending on everything from houses to cars and has also lowered interest rates, but there is a bright spot, specifically for homeowners: Staff has recommended keeping the property tax the same.

Garner’s current property tax rate is 49 cents per $100 of valuation. The Council had raised it by more than 2 percent last year to pay for Town Hall and the police expansion.

Remaining unspent from last year, those funds have been placed in reserve, according to the town.

The Council begins discussing the 279-page budget Tuesday, May 12 at 1 p.m. at Town Hall. By state law, elected officials have until July 1 to amend and approve a finalized budget.

Despite gloomy projections, Watkins says the town will still maintain current services. As a way to shed costs, he said that departments have put off some capital needs and that town employees will go without a cost of living raise.

With past budget projects still in the works or just beginning, Watkins thinks Garnerians will see a silver lining over the next 12 months. Specifically, he mentioned White Deer Park’s opening later this year, the addition of sidewalks in North Garner and the purchase of larger 65-gallon recycling bins.

“From a citizen standpoint, those are three pretty cool projects coming to town.”

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