Highlights from Siler City’s annual budget retreat, addressing requests delayed by COVID-19

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SILER CITY — “Help us to be proactive, not reactive” — that was the common request from town department heads at Siler City’s annual budget retreat on Saturday.

“I think in the past, as many mentioned here today,” Town Manager Roy Lynch told the News + Record, “our staffing levels have not allowed us to be proactive in going out with and looking at things as needed. We’re more reactive to people calling in with issues.”

A year ago, Lynch and other town staff hoped the board of commissioners would approve staffing expansions and funding requests to help Siler City meet its growing demands. Then COVID-19 swept the nation and derailed the town’s budgetary plans.

“A lot of the requests this year, especially for personnel and capital, are all based on the need that was already there last year,” Lynch said, “that could not be met because of the pandemic.”

But funding difficulties and staffing issues are not a new problem for the town.

“Staff has asked, on multiple levels, year over year, if they could increase (funding),” Lynch said, “so that they can address issues ... Normally we just react to things that are problematic, and so that’s one thing we’re looking at.”

Finance Director Tina Stroupe and Public Works and Utilities Director Chris McCorquodale were two who emphasized a desire to move beyond reactive workflow into proactive town service.

“There are things that we can do as a finance department to help the town,” Stroupe said, “that we can’t really do just because of our staffing level.”

At Saturday’s retreat, Stroupe requested funding for an additional staff member, an accounting and purchasing manager, at an annual salary of about $52,000.

“I think this person will help us with that goal of being more proactive,” she said.

McCorquodale, who oversees nine town departments under the public works and utilities umbrella, also requested funding to support several new staff members.

“It just goes back again to what Tina was saying about being proactive,” he said. “After being reactive for so many years, we need to really push forward.”

Besides staffing shortages, department heads implored the commissioners to shore up town budgets for essential equipment and training. The request was especially poignant from Chief Mike Wagner of the Siler City Police Department.

Nationwide statistics, Wagner said, suggest there are two major divisions of crime — violent and property related. On both counts, Siler City’s trends depict a troubling landscape.

“In both those categories, we’re well elevated above both the state and national level. We’ve had 67 violent crimes this year in Siler City,” Wagner said, referring to crime reports which ran from Nov. 2019 to Oct. 2020. “And they are from homicide to rape, sexual assault and shootings.”

There had been 325 property crimes during the same period, he added.

More bodies on his force will help stymie the town’s evolving crime world, Wagner said, which includes a growing number of what he called “validated gang members.” But staff increases alone are not sufficient.

“We want to develop and deploy a crime prevention plan in conjunction with a crime reduction plan,” he said.

Such measures take money, though — more than his department has had in recent years.

“But I feel that public safety ... really needs some direct attention for this year,” Wagner said. “And I think that it’s a sound investment to build on our future and the past.”

The board’s response was fervid. In an unusual move for a budget retreat, the commissioners (absent Commissioner Lewis Fadely, who could not attend Saturday’s event) voted unanimously to supply the police department with two new marked vehicles to be “purchased outright,” according to Lynch’s formal request in behalf of the SCPD.

The board will also devote a dedicated budget meeting to the police department at a future date.

Over the next few months, the commissioners will hold subsequent budget meetings to evaluate all town department budget requests. Around May, they will decide on a budget for fiscal year 2022, which begins July 1.

A detailed list of department requests is available on the town of Siler City website, but here are some noteworthy deviations from this year’s budget:

The Governing Board

The Governing Board’s expenses include commission members’ salaries and associated fees, services, travel, training and more. The governing board requested $60,683 more than it received for this year’s budget, mostly to fund various Siler City non-profits.

The total budget request is for $240,593.

Human resources

The town’s HR department requested $21,534 in additional funds for advertising, annual physicals for fire department staff and CDL licenses for town drivers. Total requested funds are $153,764.

Finance

To fund creation of a new position, Finance Director Tina Stroupe requested $51,110 more than her department’s current budget for a total proposed budget of $270,919.

Building and grounds

Primarily for exterior repairs to the City Hall building, the buildings and grounds department requested $29,500 in additional funding from this year’s budget for a total of $125,806.

Public Works

The public works department requested $101,792 more than it received in the current budget cycle. The extra money — which brings the proposed budget to $562,823 — would fund training, vehicle repairs, a Ford F-250 vehicle and a new lawn mower, among other, smaller purchases.

Sanitation

For similar purchases as the public works department, sanitation requested $101,495 in additional funds. Its total proposed budget is $729,054.

Powell Bill

The Powell Bill department cares for town streets, sidewalks and new construction projects. For the current fiscal year, the department’s budget funded purchase of a new tractor. For next year, it requested $47,596 — $549,150 total.

Water treatment plant

To help with operations expenses including laboratory analysis and associated equipment, the water treatment plant department requested $286,322 more than its current budget. In total, the proposed budget for fiscal year 2022 is $2,467,143.

Wastewater treatment plant

Much like the water treatment plant department, the wastewater treatment plant department requested $2,071,121 total — $312,644 more than its current funding allocation — for lab supplies and analysis and general operations expenses.

Water sewer maintenance department

Water sewer maintenance requested $273,313 more than its current year budget for vehicle repairs, a remetering program, water line replacement, a Ford F-250, a Ford Ranger, and other equipment. The total budget request is for $1,105,791.

Library

The library requested $24,000 more than current year for building repairs and fencing. The total requested budget is $42,950.

Planning

The planning department asked for $172,874 more than its current budget to fund a new planner position and several services and projects. Its proposed budget is $490,549.

Parks and Recreation

The parks and recreation department requested $154,905 beyond its current budget to pay for athletic supplies, repair work to Ramsey gym, on East 6th Street, a new program and special events coordinator position and contracted services.

Its total proposed budget is $787,232.

Police

The police department requested $997,165 more than its current year budget to pay for several vehicles, supplies, building upgrades and four new department employees.

The total proposed budget is $3,014,501.

Fire

The fire department asked for $160,162 extra beyond this year’s budget to fund employee overtime, new gear and more.

Its total proposed budget is $812,777.

In total, town staff requested $2,607,688 more for fiscal year 2022 than current year’s budget, according to Lynch. To see a complete breakdown of every departments’ budget requests, visit the city's website

Reporter D. Lars Dolder can be reached at dldolder@chathamnr.com and on Twitter @dldolder.