May
28, 2003
The
Honorable Norman O. Call, Mayor
Members
of the Board of Commissioners
Wilkesboro,
North Carolina
Dear
Mayor Call and Members of the Board of Commissioners:
Pursuant to section 159-11 of the
North Carolina General Statutes, I am pleased to present the recommended
2003-2004 budget for your review and consideration.
The proposed budget for 2003-2004
provides a financial plan for the ensuing fiscal year and has been developed in
accordance with the Town Board Goals and Objectives as discussed during our
budget work sessions. The key
components of these directives from the Town Board and the budgetary principles
on which this budget is based include:
Basic services are continued with
financing at adequate levels
Capital needs for the Town are
identified and realistically addressed
Co-worker benefits and salary
adjustments are maintained at a competitive level to retain qualified personnel
Intergovernmental
relations will continue with the Town providing water service to County water
districts
Emphasis is placed on comprehensive
and long-range planning
Revenues are estimated at realistic,
conservative levels
The recommended budget for fiscal
year 2003-2004 totals $7,334,170 for all City operations, capital improvements,
and debt service. This represents a 11%
increase over the current year budget.
This increase is due to occupancy
tax receipts in the General Fund, increased street work in the Powell Bill Fund
and further emphasis on line replacement in the Utility Fund.
In the proposed budget, I recommend
continuing the current tax rate of .34 cents per $100 of valuation. A property owner who has real property of
$125,000 will receive a tax bill of $425.00.
The ad valorem taxes will yield $1,700,000 based on property taxes at a
collection rate of 97 percent.
Water and sewer fees and charges
will generate $3,431,327 or 47 percent of the total budget. The proposed budget
includes no increase in utility rates.
Residential customers using an average of 4300 gallons a month will
receive a combined water and sewer bill of $7.00. Water rates, sewer rates and charges for all out of Town
Customers excluding the water associations will have a multiplier of 1.5 added
to the bill.
OTHER
REVENUES
Local Option Sales Tax: Retail sales
in North Carolina have been flat this last year. With the continuing uncertainty of the economy a conservative
growth estimate of 25% should be budgeted for fiscal year 2003-2004. The Town receives four (4) sales tax
allocations:
(1) Article 39 one-cent tax, which is
the original local government sales and use tax dating from 1971, (2) Article
40 (1983 one-half cent) tax, and (3) Article 42 (1986 one-half cent) tax. A 4th one-cent tax was put in
place December 2 to replace local reimbursements. The Town’s sales tax revenues are distributed on a per capita
basis. It is estimated that the Town
will receive $790,000 in fiscal year 2003-2004.
Other
Taxes and Licenses: A business is liable for a privilege license tax as a
revenue measure, not as an attempt to regulate activity. Under N.C.G.S. 160A-211, a town is free to
levy privilege license taxes, except as specifically restricted or prohibited
by law. Estimated receipts for issuance
of these licenses in fiscal year 2003-2004 are $12,000.
Unrestricted
Intergovernmental: Utility Franchise Tax - each town’s share of the
utility franchise tax is based on the actual receipts from electric, telephone,
and natural gas service within the municipal boundaries during fiscal year
2002-2003. The utility franchise tax is
estimated to yield $390,000.
Restricted
Intergovernmental: Powell Bill Allocation - These funds, unlike
other State-shared taxes, are limited in their use. N.C.G.S. 136-413 directs that the money be spent “only for the
purpose of maintaining, repairing, constructing, reconstructing, or widening of
any street or public thoroughfare including bridges, drainage, curb and gutter,
and other necessary appurtenances within the corporate limits of a municipality
or for meeting the municipality’s proportionate share of assessment levied for
such purposes.” Three-quarters of the
proceeds are distributed on a per capita basis, while the remaining quarter is
distributed on the basis of the number of miles of non-state streets in the
town. Estimated receipts from the
Powell Bill Allocation in fiscal year 2003-2004 are $111,000.
Fund Balance: The proposed
budget includes a general fund balance appropriation of $164,727 in order to get
a balanced budget as required by statute.
This will leave the Town approximately $1,275,000 or 34% of the proposed
General Fund budget in unappropriated fund balance. The Local Government Commission recommends that municipalities
maintain at least 8% in fund balance reserves.
EXPENDITURES BY CATEGORY
Personnel: This category of expenditures accounts
for $3,202,345 or 44 percent of the total budget. These expenditures include salaries and wages, FICA, retirement,
group insurance, merit pay, and other miscellaneous benefits for 67 full-time
employees, 13 part-time employees, and 5 elected officials. This is an increase of 3 full-time
positions, a records clerk in the police dept., grounds help in public buildings,
and a laborer in water/sewer construction.
The budget contains $680,000 for
group health and dental insurance for 64 employees, 4 elected officials, and 4
retirees. I have budgeted for a 15%
increase in insurance costs. This
budget has the Town continuing to fund the full cost of insurance for all
members and their dependents.
The budget contains revenue for a 5
percent salary and wage increase for funding a 2% cost of living increase
effective July 1 and a 3% merit increase on employees anniversary date. I have
also included 39,500 for a 5% match on 401k contributions for general town
employees.
A total of $14,320 has been budgeted
for training this year. This funding
will be used to improve job skills, gain knowledge of the latest equipment and
technology, and to remain up to date on a variety of issues that impact the
Town. Internal training will focus on
safety and the use of technology.
Operating
Expenditures: This category of expenditures accounts for 45 percent or
$3,257,342 of the total budget. These
expenditures include costs other than personnel and capital outlay that are
required for the operations of the Town.
Debt service requirements, inflationary trends, increased service
demands, and enforcement of government regulations directly affect operational
expenditures.
Capital
Outlay: This category of expenditures accounts for 8 percent or $645,500 of
the total budget. These expenditures
are for the purchase of machinery, equipment, and other items that are too
permanent in nature to be considered expendable at the time of purchase and
have a value greater than $5000.
BALANCED
BUDGET
The fiscal year 2003-2004 budget
summary of revenues and expenditures for all funds is:
FUND REVENUES EXPENDITURES
General $ 3,902,842 $
3,3902842
Water & Sewer $ 3,431,328 $
3,431.328
TOTAL $ 7,334,170 $
7,334,170
CONCLUSION
This is an exciting time for
Wilkesboro. We continue to be
financially strong, we are an affordable community to live in, and we provide a
high quality of life to our citizenry.
As we look to the future, our desire is to provide a safe, healthy, and
prosperous community in which to live.
This budget is proposed by the Town
Manager. At this time, it is neither
final nor is it necessarily a reflection of what will be approved by the Town
Board. The Town Board will undertake a
thorough study of this proposal to arrive at what it considers the proper
program of revenues and expenditures for the Town government for the coming
year.
Respectfully submitted,
Kenneth D. Noland
Town Manager