Town of Black Mountain sets public hearing for 2022-23 budget

$17 million spending plan heads for approval following lengthy discussion

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
June 16, 2022

The Town of Black Mountain’s $17 million recommended budget for 2022-23 will be the subject of a June 28 public hearing. Photo by Fred McCormick

A proposed $17 million 2022-23 budget that has been the subject of a series of in-depth discussions by Black Mountain officials in recent weeks, will be considered for final approval, following a public hearing scheduled for 5 p.m., Tuesday, June 28. 

The town manager’s recommended spending and five-year capital improvement plan, up 15% over the current fiscal year, includes increases for personnel, public safety and capital, while doubling cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for all full-time employees. The document, if approved by town council, will add six new staff positions to the town and fund a classification and compensation study later this year. 

While internal budget conversations between department heads and administration began in late-January, according to Town Manager Josh Harrold, elected officials determined spending priorities during a March retreat. Town council members identified several key issues in the day-long workshop that shaped the budget process in the months that followed. 

The proposed plan, which maintains the town’s current ad valorem tax rate of 30.6 cents per $100 of property valuation, is balanced by an appropriation of approximately $600,000 from the town’s unassigned fund balance.

Employee compensation and retention

Harrold introduced plans for a COLA increase of 5.75% in a May 19 budget workshop, the first of four special call meetings focusing on the spending plan. That proposal, which addressed town council’s concern regarding compensation for existing staff, was moved up to 6% when the recommended budget was unveiled a week later, doubling the 3% salary adjustment in 2021-22. 

The increase, according to the town manager, will bring wages for all full-time employees to at least $15 per hour.

While the town did not see a mass exodus of staff at the onset of the Great Resignation last spring, the fallout of the national reshuffling of the labor force has made filling vacancies a challenge, Harrold wrote in his budget outlook message to the mayor and town council. 

In an effort to bolster employee retention and remain competitive in the hiring market, the proposed budget allocates $10,000 to fund a study examining the town’s internal pay structure and review its relationship with the labor market. 

“The recommendations from that study should help us make sure we’re competitive in our hiring practices while also helping us keep the employees we have now,” Harrold said in a June 7 interview. “We have to look at things differently than we’ve looked at them before. There are a lot of places competing for employees right now.”

Additional staffing proposed for administration, water and police

Included in Harrold’s recommended budget are six new positions within the town, created to support current employees in three departments. Two new posts are proposed in administration, where a second human resources representative will assist an “overwhelmed” division. 

“We only have one HR position now, and I’m requesting another because the current employee is extremely overwhelmed,” Harrold said when making the recommendation to the town council. “Not that everyone isn’t overwhelmed, but this position continues to accrue (compensatory time) at a level I believe is simply too much.”

The position will assist the HR coordinator with various duties, including insurance reporting, hiring and exit interviews while allowing the town to focus on initiatives related to employee retention, according to the town manager. 

“This new position could also be utilized to head specific things for employees,” Harrold said. “So, possibly setting up classes, lunch-and-learn meetings and events like that. We’re definitely in need of another position there right now.”

The proposed spending plan also seeks to create a project manager position within the administrative department. The employee would oversee capital projects across all departments, allowing directors to focus on departmental responsibilities. 

“Anything we do that is a substantial project, from greenways, to sidewalks, to water projects and bridges, staff feels like we need to get those off the department heads’ plates,” Harrold told the board. “We are struggling to accomplish these tasks in a timely manner.”

Total compensation for both new administrative positions is $170,000. 

An additional position put forward for the finance division of the water department is intended to develop a centralized system for payment collection.  

Public safety, which came into focus as a priority for town council following a February presentation by Black Mountain Police Chief Steve Parker, is also addressed in the recommended budget. In his annual report, the chief cited 45 instances over a six-month span in 2021 in which there was a single officer or no law enforcement presence within the town. 

Two weeks later, when town officials began budget discussions, Harrold told board members he planned to address staffing for local law enforcement in the coming fiscal year. The 2022-23 budget proposal for the BMPD, up 30.5% from last year, includes funding for three additional officers while addressing additional public safety concerns communicated by Parker.

Public safety

Included among expenditures proposed for BMPD in the coming year is $280,000 to fund the purchase of five new patrol vehicles for the aging fleet, and $300,000 to replace outdated body cameras not currently integrated with the in-car camera systems. The chief classified both of these issues as “major concerns” in his annual report.

The Fire Service Fund, which was created this year as a separate revenue designation to reflect revenue from the East Buncombe Fire District, accounts for $2.6 million in the recommended spending plan, up around 13% over the current year. 

Recommended capital spending for the BMFD includes $75,000 to replace the vehicle driven by the chief and $56,000 for equipment. The budget would also transfer $100,000 to capital reserve for the future purchase of a fire truck. 

Rising fuel costs are reflected in an estimated 25% increase across all departments, while operating costs in the overall budget are projected to rise 30% above the 2021-22 adopted budget. 

Proposed capital improvement expenditures 

Prioritization and funding related to capital purchases have been the focus of frequent discussion among officials throughout the budget process, as the town council plans to utilize the $2.6 million it is receiving through the American Rescue Plan as revenue replacement. That approach allows the town, which has already received half of that funding, to meet the ARP rules and requirements with minimal reporting to the Federal government, according to Harrold. 

“That involves us not including that ARP in this budget,” he said. “But, when we pay salaries in this budget, starting July 1, we move the ARP money into the general fund and it covers those salaries. In turn, that frees up fund balance for projects we want to do.”

While the money from the COVID-19 stimulus package is not reflected in the recommended budget, the anticipation of its availability has shaped much of the planning process for the upcoming fiscal year.

Capital projects in the budget proposal include $60,000 for a new recreation and parks master plan, which was last updated in 2017. The document will also allocate money for the purchase of a 15-passenger van, full-size truck and youth basketball goals for the recreation department. 

The town council indicated plans to begin funding some projects with the surplus created by ARP revenue replacement, including a $195,000 renovation of the Grey Eagle Arena and $65,000 for sidewalks along Charlotte Street from the Flat Creek Greenway to U.S. 70, at the start of the new fiscal year. 

“We’ll do those with one-time money through budget amendments,” Mayor Larry Harris said to the board in a June 9 budget workshop.