Morganton approves budget with unchanged property tax rate

From one item to the next, the Morganton City Council quickly moved through its specially called Monday evening meeting, unanimously passing a $94 million budget that keeps residents paying the same property tax rate in the coming year.

The approval followed a public hearing and a more in-depth presentation earlier this month. Before the vote, City Manager Sally Sandy reviewed several highlights of the budget. Sandy previously noted that the new budget serves as a roadmap for maintaining Morganton as a city of choice while balancing financial responsibility with recovery efforts, continued investment, and future growth.

The new budget, which goes into effect on July 1, will keep the city’s property tax rate at 50 cents per $100 of valuation and the downtown service district tax rate at 12 cents per $100 of valuation.

Of the $94 million, about $20 million is dedicated to capital projects citywide, which make improvements to long-term physical assets. Included in the general fund is a planned $6 million renovation of the CoMMA Performing Arts Center, for which staff are seeking grants. The funding also includes repairs to the Historic Courthouse, vehicles and equipment for public safety and public works, parking lot improvements, and interior painting for the Morganton Community House.

Though the city’s tax rates remain unchanged, there will be a few increases on utilities, including a 2.5% volumetric rate increase on water and sewer. For a residential customer using 5,000 gallons per month, the increase would be less than $1 per month. Electric customers will notice a 2.6% increase, with the average residential customer paying $3.47 more per month.

The city’s garbage collection fee will increase from $12 to $14 per month beginning Aug. 1 as the city prepares for the first phase of a transition to rollout containers while continuing once-a-week backyard pickup service. Sandy noted that there is no increase for CoMPAS services at this time.

EMPLOYEE RAISES AND POSITION CHANGES

City employees will receive a 2% cost-of-living raise beginning in July and a 2% merit raise for eligible employees in March 2027, according to Sandy. For the first time since Hurricane Helene, the city will resume market reviews to evaluate pay and benefits for employees in the CoMPAS, finance, public safety, public works, and recreation departments. The remaining departments, including utilities, will be reviewed in the next budget year, Sandy noted.

There will also be a few position reviews and reclassifications, according to Sandy. The most noticeable changes will be in administration with the changing of Finance Director Jessie Parris’ role into a dual position, keeping her current duties in finance, but also taking on an assistant manager role. The current assistant manager role, filled by Rob Winkler, will transition into a deputy manager role.

Sandy said that years ago the city had dual assistant city manager roles, so the structure isn’t new. Parris will work closely with the utility departments as the city carries out its long-term infrastructure master plans. Before she joined the city, Parris worked for WithersRavenel, a civil engineering firm, where she worked with local governments on asset management and rate studies.

Winkler will take a larger role in economic development projects, Sandy said, similar to the responsibilities former Assistant City Manager Sonja Marston handled during her tenure with the city.

POLICY UPDATES

Developers or other customers seeking new electric infrastructure construction and line extensions will now be responsible for paying for those additions, a new policy approved by the city council. However, Sandy noted that the customer will be eligible for a credit for the revenue they would generate.

Historically, the cost associated with those facility changes has been embedded in the city’s rate base, according to Tom McKee, electric services director.

McKee added that the policy is increasingly common across the electric utility industry and will help the city get ahead of the growth expected next year.

“We have some of the lowest rates in the state, and this just positions us to be in a place to continue with those low rates and ensure that any of the customers that are requesting these changes are the ones that actually see that financial responsibility,” McKee said.

Council also approved an increase to the purchase order limit from $1,000 to $2,500, effective July 1. The change means city staff will be able to make larger routine purchases before needing additional purchase order approvals, a threshold officials said has become outdated due to inflation.

“Inflation has caused a lot of routine items, tires, things that we get in large quantities, are just requiring a lot of every week purchase orders, so I think it’s going to help on just some of those routine costs,” Parris said.