Summerfield budget shrinks after new town hall halted by CHRIS BURRITT SUMMERFIELD – The decision by Summerfield Town Council last month to stop development of the new town hall reduced by nearly two thirds the budget proposed for next fiscal year. The draft spending plan reviewed by the council this past Tuesday, May 31, shrunk to $2.13 million, a drop of $3.76 million from the $5.88 million in the original budget. The drop reflects the council’s decision May 10 to halt plans for the new town hall after construction costs skyrocketed.
The proposed budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 “looks vastly different from the initial draft presented in April, primarily due to a change in direction related to the new town hall project,” Town Manager Scott Whitaker wrote in his budget message to the council. The council plans to consider adopting the budget during its regular meeting June 14. It held the special called meeting earlier this week to get its first look at the budget draft. Whitaker recommended leaving the property tax rate unchanged at
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2.75 cents per $100 of property valuation, despite a 12.7% increase in the value of property in Summerfield due to Guilford County’s reappraisal of property earlier this year. The reassessment boosted property values within the town to $1.84 billion. For the first time in several years, the proposed budget doesn’t tap Summerfield’s reserves to cover costs for capital projects. Instead, the town plans to draw $586,487 from its $1.34 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to balance the budget. “Summerfield has no outstanding debt and has a history of turning to reserves to fund large, one-time needs and balance the budget,” Whitaker wrote in the budget message. Capital projects are estimated to cost $476,500 next year. Two expenses – $130,000 for development of the Atlantic and Yadkin Greenway (South) and $100,000 for a dog park – account for nearly half of capital
expenditures. Whitaker projected that Summerfield will end the current fiscal year with a fund balance “well in excess” of $7 million. That compares to $6.96 million as of June 30, 2021. Whitaker cited rising inflation in proposing an increase of as much as 7.5% in cost-of-living adjustments and merit pay raises for town staff. The budget also proposes the addition of a full-time employee to assist with the management of projects such as development of Bandera Farms Park and other duties. Citing increasing work demands at Town Hall, Mayor Tim Sessoms said he favors adding a fourth full-time employee to Summerfield’s payroll. The town also has three part-time employees and two seasonal park workers. “It’s all hands on deck,” Sessoms said. “We’ve gone about as far as we How We Can Help can” with current staffing.
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