Town board approves Padgett’s budget with no changes

With no discussion, the Wake Forest Town Board approved Town Manager Kip Padgett’s budget for fiscal year 2023-2024 near the close of its regular meeting Tuesday night, June 20. Commissioner Adam Wright, quoting from the North Carolina state constitution, said he would ask the town staff to put together an allocation for green space.
Voters may not remember what that budget entailed when it was unveiled on May 2. Therefore, the Gazette is reprinting the article.
Padgett proposes one cent tax increase
Tuesday evening, May 2, Wake Forest Town Manager Kip Padgett proposed a one-cent increase in next year’s property tax rate, which would raise it from 49.5 cents to 50.5 cents.
The increase, Padgett said, is to cover the costs of the 2022 bond referendum with a
$75 million price tag. He and Chief Financial Officer Aileen Staples had warned those costs for roads, greenways, parks/recreation and a downtown parking facility might necessitate a property tax increase of between one and three cents, but they have been able to keep it at one cent. Street resurfacing and greenway projects are ready for construction.
There is also a proposed increase in the solid waste monthly charge of $1 from $21 to $22.
The tax base has grown by $209,888,345 in a year to $7,631,691,445, which includes property in both Wake and Franklin counties. He pegged the collection rate at 98.5 percent, but in actuality the rate has been 99.7 percent “. . . but it remains prudent to be more conservative in our projections,” Padgett said.
The 2023-2024 budget for the town will be $110,309,395 if the Wake Forest commissioners approve it. Also, $2,287,000 will be shifted from the fund balance (savings) to pay for one-time capital purchases.
Growth was a key word in Padgett’s short speech to the commissioners and his nine-page budget introduction – growth in the tax base, growth in population and a matching need for personnel and equipment to properly serve that growth.
He pointed out that public safety – the police and fire departments – are the largest share of the town budget. Both departments are rated as very high in performance and standards.
Padgett is requesting the following 27 new positions:
*15 firefighters for a recruit school that will begin in January. The new positions will assure five people in each company and will provide trained personnel for the new fire station when it is built. Padgett said the town has one or two parcels it is considering for the eastern location.
*Code enforcement officer
*Code enforcement Official Apprentice available for a graduating high school senior with a career path leading to certification.
*Zoning officer to meet growth.
*Two custodians for town hall and other town building will result in some savings to the current contract.
*Budget manager to make two people overseeing the budget.
*Administrative assistant now on the job part-time in the communications department
will move to full time.
*Arts liaison at the Renaissance Centre will go from part-time to full-time.
*Environmental specialist in stormwater to help meet and enforce state standards.
*Solid waste equipment operator to help with the new homes and new routes.
*Solid waste collector again to help with new homes and new routes.
*Recreation specialist will provide needed help with athletics and aquatics.
In the town’s quest for more affordable housing, Padgett wrote that $50,000 will again be budgeted to renovate and rehabilitate homes in the northeast community according to the plan for that area. Also, there will be a new study to look at town-owned developable land that could be used for affordable housing. A third part of the plan is making available counseling to help lower income residents in the northeast area and town employees qualify for mortgages and go through all the steps to help them buy a house. Finally, half a cent of the tax rate is dedicated to affordable housing and $200,000 of that sum will establish an affordable housing fund to help with other affordable housing initiatives.
The headquarters building for the police department has been inadequate for 25 or more years, and divisions are scattered around town – detectives here, traffic patrol there. The second sentence in a paragraph about this problem says: “Beginning in November of 2023, the PD will consolidate its functions into a new facility.”
Recently, the town board authorized Padgett to enter into a long term lease agreement with Merritt Properties for space located at 745 Merritt Capital Drive, which runs between Ligon Mill Road and Unicon Drive in the South Forest Industrial Park.
For all of the town residents who have complained about the condition of town roads, there is a solution in sight but it will take three years to accomplish it. Director of Engineering Joseph Guckavan recently presented the results of a pavement management study. As a result, the town will spend $18 million on a three-year repaving project followed by the investment of $2 million each year to keep those roads in good condition. The $2 million will be funded by Powell Bill money and a cent and a half of the property tax ($0.015).
The above is just some of the information in the budget message, and you can read it all. There is a copy of the full budget in the lobby at town hall. Just be sure to set aside enough time to read it all.
There is also budget information on the town’s website. Just click on this link: https://www.wakeforestnc.gov/finance/financial-management-fiscal-operations/financial-reports/budget
There will be a public hearing about the budget on Tuesday, May 16, early in the town board’s monthly business meeting which begins at 6 p.m. in town hall. The mayor and town commissioners will discuss the budget and could ask for revisions during their work session on June 6 and they are expected to approve the budget on June 20 before the new fiscal year begins on July 1.
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