PITTSBORO — The board of commissioners met for their last meeting of May on Monday evening, where officials held a public hearing on the upcoming fiscal year’s budget.
Town Manager Jonathan Franklin presented the budget to the board, and he thanked staff for their work through the months-long budget process.
“I am proud to present the hard work of the staff, as I’ve only been here for a few weeks,” Franklin said to the board on Monday.
Pittsboro’s 2023-24 budget total is almost $16.4 million, with the general fund making up over $10 million of the entire budget. The property tax rate for residences in Pittsboro will remain the same at 44 cents per $100 of assessed value. Water and sewer rates, however, have a proposed 2.5% increase to account for inflated costs.
Solid waste collection has its own proposed funds totalling $555,000. According to the manager’s budget message, waste collection rates will increase 5.5% because of “inflationary costs due to [Pittsboro’s] agreement with GFL.”
The budget will also fund six new positions with the town, including a police detective, construction inspector, engineer, downtown maintenance worker, park maintenance worker and wastewater maintenance worker.
“We feel that these added positions will allow us to be more proactive and to continue providing high quality services,” Franklin wrote in his budget proposal.
In his presentation to the board, Franklin said town staff wanted to ensure the budget prioritized the best service for residents.
“This was prepared with the focus being on the town’s long-term financial stability while allowing us to provide high quality services at the lowest possible cost,” he said. “We are continuing to invest in our people, and I think that’s the best way to make sure all of these things get done.”
Commissioner Kyle Shipp said the budget often acts as a reflection on what the town sees as a priority, but he said the proposed budget lacks something he feels needs to be addressed: greenways and sidewalks.
Shipp added he is thankful for the additional funding for park facility maintenance, but he said he wants to see more funding go to adding more walkways.
“There isn’t any money allocated for [sidewalks and greenways] now,” Shipp said. “It’s a big priority from the public … I’d like to see how we can allocate some money for that. I think it’s something we need to work towards in terms of improving walkability and connections throughout town.”
Franklin said the town is working to apply for, and in some cases has received, additional funding for walkways through grants. He also said some funding could be shifted around to address sidewalk repairs.
“We can work this out however y’all would like to see it,” Franklin said.
The budget public hearing was continued to the board’s next meeting on June 12 at the Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center. The public can sign up to comment on the budget prior to the next meeting or on arrival.
Reporter Taylor Heeden can be reached at theeden@chathamnr.com.