At a Monday night meeting, Spring Lake Town Manager Jon Rorie presented a proposed town budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Commissioners also held a budget hearing, as required for all proposed municipal budgets in North Carolina, and unanimously approved a new budget amendment that appropriates funds to several town accounts and allocates more money toward street repairs. Here’s the breakdown.
Budget presentation and public hearing
Rorie presented a proposed budget totalling over $17.4 million, including the town’s general, water and sewer, sanitation and stormwater funds.
Under this proposed budget, property taxes will remain at their current rate of 74.1 cents per $100 in property value. Spring Lake’s average home price currently sits around $260,000. At this valuation, homeowners would pay just over $1,900 in property taxes to the town. This revenue goes into the town’s general fund to be used on items like street maintenance, public safety and town staff salaries.
The budget also includes a 2.3% cost of living adjustment for most town employees and a 4% market adjustment for Spring Lake Fire Department employees.
This year marks the first time since 2022 that Spring Lake presented a budget outside the financial control of the N.C. Local Government Commission.
The LGC took control of Spring Lake’s finances in October 2021, amid allegations of financial mismanagement within the town government. A 2022 investigative audit revealed years of financial mismanagement and hundreds of thousands of misappropriated tax dollars. Former Spring Lake Finance Director Gay Tucker was sentenced to four years in prison for embezzling nearly $570,000 from the town over a five-year period.
Since 2022, LGC has helped Spring Lake prepare their budget, making sure all town funds were balanced and each dollar was accounted for. Now, with the municipality released from LGC’s financial control, Spring Lake officials have the authority to change and approve their operating budget on their own.
Budget amendment
Commissioners unanimously approved a budget amendment totaling $636,160 that moves funds to their appropriate accounts for town expenses.
Town Finance Director James Overton said this budget amendment also allocates $104,000 to be used to pave Third Street, which runs parallel to North Bragg Blvd.
Several months ago, Overton explained, the town had put out a bid to use Powell Bill funds, totalling about $600,000 to pave several damaged roads. The Powell Bill is a street-aid program administered by the North Carolina Department of Transportation to assist municipalities in maintaining their roads and streets.
The town awarded Highland Paving the contract to fix Third St., which Overton said is “full of potholes,” for the additional $104,000.
The next Spring Lake Board of Commissioners meeting, where commissioners are expected to vote on the town’s proposed budget, will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 23 at Spring Lake Town Hall, 300 Ruth St.
