Henderson City Council member Garry Daeke has had a couple of days to review and reflect on the 2024-25 budget that was presented Monday by City Manager Terrell Blackmon.
It’s a delicate balance, Daeke said, to create a budget that provides for citizens’ wants and needs – without putting those same citizens in a bind by raising taxes, fees and more.
“I do enjoy the challenge of taking a budget and looking at all the different pieces,” Daeke said on Wednesday’s TownTalk. The cost of those services versus the tax rate is always a balancing act, and it’s one that Council members will begin discussing at a work session on Monday, May 20.
Blackmon’s presentation included details of a $25 million General Fund budget, and a total budget figure of somewhere around $45 million. The 158-page document can be found on the city’s webpage at henderson.nc.gov, under the Departments heading, click on Finance to go directly to the dropdown box where the document is located. (Or click here as of 5-15-24.)
“The city’s growing,” Daeke said. “We have so many things we’d like to do.” But how to fund those things is what the budget discussion will be about.
Added to the mix is the recent revaluation of properties in the county, which will generate additional revenue for the city in the form of property tax.
A 45-cent per $100 of value would generate the same amount of tax revenue as this year, Daeke said. “We need some increase, I think. I do not think it needs to be 10 cents.”
A 55-cent per $100 value would generate between $4 and 4.5 million, he calculated, and a 65-cent per $100 value would bring in $7 million. He said, however, that he would not vote for a 55-cent tax rate unless he was thoroughly convinced otherwise during the course of the upcoming budget discussions. If the city were to keep the current tax rate of 75 cents per $100, it would generate roughly $10 million.
Generally speaking, overall property values in the city increased about 63 percent since the last revaluation in 2016. That means many property owners will have to pay higher tax bills, maybe a couple of hundred extra dollars, in the city, Daeke noted.
And that, coupled with higher monthly bills like water and sewer, could pose problems for folks who may be struggling to make ends meet as it is. “We have to be cognizant of what people can afford.”
Landlords most likely would have to increase rents to help absorb those rising costs, Daeke said. “It could be a phenomenal amount in a year’s time for people who are struggling to pay their bills.”
Another funding stream comes from sales tax collection, which continues to be strong in the city. “We’ve done well in terms of people staying home and spending money,” he said.
The budget also calls for moving $4 million from the fund balance to offset non-recurring federal ARPA funds. Daeke said there’s “extra” money available because of having unfilled positions within the city.
Once those positions are filled, however, that “extra” money will not be available.
Some of the other items on the expenditure side of the ledger in the future include a new fire station, completion of the park on William Street and housing redevelopment.
“We’ve taken down 300 homes – we need to start putting stuff back,” Daeke said. “That can’t be done without some funding.”
A major contributor to the sales tax coffers is McGregor Hall. Economic impact studies show that the entertainment venue draws people from across the region to see concerts, performances and participate in dance competitions, just to name a few.
Daeke said he would like to see more support for McGregor Hall from local government.
“I believe it’s time to help them stay in business,” he said, noting that there is nothing in the recommended budget at present.
One idea that’s floating around is to purchase the property on which the former Falkner Building Supply once stood. It’s part of the original McGregor family bequest, Daeke said, so McGregor Hall owns it.
“We’d love to purchase that and put a parking area and other businesses there” to create a cash flow for McGregor Hall and to contribute to the economic vitality to the downtown area.
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