Hamlet Council approves FY 23-24 budget

HAMLET — Following five budget work sessions dating back to January, the Hamlet City Council has unanimously approved a budget for fiscal year 23-24.

Similar to FY 22-23, officials have placed a premium on being responsible stewards of Hamlet residents, while also investing in what Hamlet considers its most valuable assets — its employees.

The finalized total budget is balanced at $11,068,020 with constituent parts General Fund Budget, Powell Bill Budget, and Enterprise Fund Budget.

• General Fund: $7,362,810

• Powell Bill: $217,700

• Enterprise Fund: $3,488,200

The largest source of General Fund revenue continues to be property taxes. The budget anticipates $1,900,000 in ad valorum property tax revenue in the upcoming year and an additional $322,000 in vehicle taxes.

In a close second, the budget projects $1,410,000 in various sales tax revenue.

“Our organization is still recovering from the financial loss caused by Richmond County changing the sales tax distribution,” states the report.

Nonetheless, Hamlet continues to invest in its staff. According to the budget message, “The most critical asset in our organization is our people. Our employees are at the center of all the services we provide to our citizens.”

In July 2022 the city implemented a market-based compensation plan, marking a significant departure from the previous grade and step plan. The city utilized salary surveys from the North Carolina League of Municipalities to develop a new pay strategy commensurate with contemporary wages and cost of living expenditures.

Accordingly, the city also adopted a 4% cost of living increase.

The 23-24 budget invests in critical infrastructure, services, and equipment. The city is paying $273,000 for a new 5,000 square foot public works building, and $180,000 for a new garbage truck.

Additionally, the city is focused on repairing and maintaining existing facilities. Despite deferments in previous years, in 23-24, the city will be replacing roofs, remodeling bathrooms, and installing new safety equipment in city buildings.

Although there is an appreciable cost to the planned programs, the city has developed a budget that does not levy any utility or service rate increase on citizens. Budget documentation states, “Rate increases were reviewed with the city council during budget work sessions but ultimately council decided that our citizens and customers should not incur an increase from the City of Hamlet when there are so many other economic uncertainties.”

Subsequent to passing the new budget, the council also unanimously approved Resolution 2023-06. The city of Hamlet does not have its own independent building inspector. The resolution is a one year continuation of an agreement with Richmond County to use the county building inspector, when necessary.

Hamlet City Manager, Matthew Christian, went on to outline and request council consideration for a recent United States Department of Agriculture grant awarded to the city.

“We applied for and were awarded a grant for a downtown master plan, which would be in addition to the broader 20 year plan for the city. This would be specifically for a planning process, specifically for the downtown core which would include all areas of the downtown: Main St., Raleigh St., Hamlet Ave., and it would involve things like streetscape, infrastructure, public input,” Christian said.

Christian continued, “We applied for that grant from the USDA and were awarded a little over $78,000 to move forward with that process. Christian asked the council for a vote that would delegate authority to the city manager to accept the grant and move forward with the project.”

Mayor Bill Bayless had initial concerns about whether the city would need to spend money up front and then recoup funds from USDA. Christian indicated that most USDA grant programs are typically a reimbursement oriented program, but assured the mayor that he would find clarification.

The council unanimously approved the measure.

During the city manager’s report, Christian reminded the council and audience that this year’s Independence Day celebration will be held on Saturday, July 1, with activities beginning at 5 p.m.

Council comments focused on lauding the achievements of council member Eddie Martin and his efforts promoting the American Legion Post 49 baseball team. Martin said, “They are continuing to have good success in the games that they have played so far. I just hope that people will support them, and that people will come out and support the team.”

“We have a lot of Juneteenth celebrations around the county this weekend,” mentioned council member Maurice Stuart. On Saturday a county celebration will be held at the Leak St. Center, starting at 10 a.m., followed by a Dobbins Heights event at noon.