The current state budget bill approved by the North Carolina Senate would repeal the ability of towns and cities to impose business taxes, usually done on a sliding scale, beginning on July 1, 2015.
For Wake Forest, the repeal would mean a loss of between $65,250 and $51,590 or more each year, according to Finance Director Aileen Staples. The $65,250 is what is in Town Manager Mark Williams’ budget for 2014-2015. The $51,590 is what the town actually collected in 2013, and Staples believes the town will collect $58,900 in 2014.
Williams’ proposed budget is set at just over $56 million with a 1-cent tax increase to provide staffing and equipment for the Jenkins Road fire station. A penny on the tax rate yields $408,835 to the town.
The proposed budget has four parts: The general fund with proposed revenues/expenses of $37.8 million, Wake Forest Power with revenues and expenditures of $20 million, the Downtown Municipal Service District fund with $90,000, and the new Wake Forest Renaissance Centre fund of $200,000. That last fund was set up as a separate account to help the town keep track of income and expenses for its new performing arts/cultural arts center.
The five town commissioners, Mayor Vivian Jones, Williams and Staples along with other town staff members will hold a work session about the budget next Tuesday, June 10, at 5:30 p.m. in the second floor meeting room in Wake Forest Town Hall on Brooks Street. It is open to the public.
