LUMBERTON — Lumberton City Council unanimously approved a budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year during its regular monthly meeting Monday at City Hall.
The budget was approved after the floor was open for comments, with neither the general public nor any member of Council making any comment. Council previously conducted a budget workshop. The new budget will take effect when the 2024-25 fiscal year begins on July 1.
The total budget will be $99,806,695, a 9.39% increase from the current fiscal year’s budget of $91,241,505.
“We anticipate this year being very active; we have several projects that are currently moving forward and will be submitted to (the Local Government Commission) for review and approval,” City Manager Wayne Horne stated in a budget summary memo obtained by The Robesonian. “City staff is also working on several large projects that may develop in fiscal year 2024-25 and extend into fiscal year 2025-26.”
Two line items that will most affect residents include the property tax rate, which will see a slight decrease, and the residential water rate, which will increase.
Property taxes
The property tax rate will decrease from $0.65 (per $100 of assessed value) to $0.62. This move comes as recent property reevaluations have taken place, and with an increase in real property value, city staff recommended the tax rate to drop.
Water rates
Residential water rates will increase 14%; this is a $9.56 increase per month for a 5,000-gallon user. This will help the city reach a rate threshold required to receive money from the State Revolving Loan Fund to aid in equipment needs for Public Works. The city’s current rate is $70.44 for a 5,000-gallon user, below the threshold of $80.
Budget documents state that the the rate adjustment will have less impact on “more average users” around 2,000 to 3,000 gallons per month.
Pay increase
City employees will see a 3.0% cost of living adjustment to their salaries as part of the new budget. An additional 1.5% is also included for law enforcement personnel, which is based on an incentive plan previously approved by Council. Adjustments were also made to some positions in the Recreation and Public Works departments “to stabilize positions and bring some positions to $15 per hour,” budget documents state.
This increase will cost the city an estimated $613,883 in salaries and $767,354 when including benefit costs; this includes $403,294 in salaries and $504,116 in benefits from the General Fund.
General Fund increase
Altogether, the General Fund will increase from $31,853,770 in the current fiscal year to $34,563,810 in the new fiscal year, an 8.5% increase. It comprises 36% of the total budget.
“The increase in General Fund expenditures is directly related to the annual (cost of living adjustment) … in addition, the replacement of vehicles and equipment in the (fiscal year) budget that is recommended for funding is critical to the city’s operation,” budget documents state.
That includes allocated funding of $800,000 for a new fire truck, $366,519 for six patrol vehicles for the Police Department and a backhoe at $210,000 and tandem dump truck at $200,000 for the Street Department.
Other areas with large increase include the Water and Sewer Fund, increasing from $17,260,505 in the current fiscal year to $20,065,020 in the new fiscal year, a 16.2% increase; insurance, which is increasing 12.8% from $7,009,790 in the current fiscal year to $7,908,875 in the new fiscal year; and fleet maintenance, which is increasing 29.3% from $1,038,670 in the current fiscal year to $1,343,360 in the new fiscal year.
Capital projects
Major capital projects for which funding is included in the fiscal year 2024-25 budget include, among others:
— The elevation and widening of Interstate 95. A lead design engineer has been selected for the design and build contract for the project, which extends nine miles from exit 13 (I-74) to exit 22 (Fayetteville Road). Of the $437.7 million in project costs, the city is responsible for 25% of the cost of utility relocation, budget documents state, at an estimated cost of between $3.5 million and $4.0 million, with electrical line relocation costs estimated at $1.6 million, with that work to be reimbursed at 75% of the cost.
— The floodgate to be constructed under I-95 in West Lumberton. Public Works is currently working with the North Carolina Department of Transportation on a bid date as project designs and specifications are complete, budget documents state.
— The Fayetteville Road Improvements Project, which will include widening the road, a raised media, sidewalks and a roundabout at the intersection of Fayetteville Road, 24th Street and Godwin Avenue. The NCDOT cost for the project is $45,208,000, but the city’s cost is only estimated at $850,000. Phase I of the project, extending from 22nd Street and Godwin Avenue up to Farringdom Street, is in its early stages.
— Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant (BRIC) funding from FEMA for $1,957,179.32 towards multiple projects “to help restore floodplains and wetlands for the purpose of storing water and reducing flooding.”
— A well replacement, with three new wells to be drilled within the 100-year floodplain, funded by an $2.3 million Additional Supplemental Appropriation for Disaster Relief Act (ASADRA) Grant.
— An 8,200-square-foot annex at the Carolina Civic Center, for which a construction contract was awarded by Council later in Monday’s meeting. The awarded bid was for $3,101,874.
— Phase III of the Pennington Athletic Complex, with plans for the construction of two soccer fields, a community splash pad, walking trail, concession/bathroom facility and parking lot, estimated at $2,376,301; of this, $1,451,301 is expected to be financed, pending LGC approval, with the rest through grant awards.
— Multiple projects replacing culverts and/or upgrading drainage pipes in an effort to reduce flooding.
The budget approval comes after a clean audit of the city’s finances was presented to the Council during its April meeting. The city’s General Fund balance was $7,574,572 at the end of 2023, accountant Wade Greene informed Council in that meeting, bringing the fund balance as a percentage of expenditures to 26.46%, above the 25% recommendation of the LGC after the city has struggled to reach that mark after hurricanes Matthew and Florence and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The city’s fiscal year 2023-24 audit review was submitted with no significant findings and with noted improvement’s in the city’s General Fund and Enterprise unappropriated fund balance,” Horne stated in a budget memo. “The challenge going forward will be the effort to sustain these numbers, while continuing to grow the fund balances beyond the state average.”
A copy of the city’s budget ordinance is available on the city’s website at https://lumbertoncitync.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=4&ID=4967&MeetingID=1331.
Sports editor Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at [emailprotected].
