Fuquay-Varina’s new $57M budget adds jobs, funds projects. What it means for taxes.
Fuquay-Varina’s proposed budget would add new town jobs, pay town employees more, and help finish a new community center.
The $57.4 million budget is a 12% increase from the current year’s budget of $51.4 million.
The budget funds 21 departments and divisions in the southwestern Wake County town of about 37,000 people, including sanitation, the arts center, and the police and fire departments.
Town Manager Adam Mitchell wants to add 24 full-time positions, many of them related to Fuquay-Varina’s growing street, sidewalk and water and sewer infrastructure.
Tax rate & increases
Mitchell is proposing a tax rate of $0.455 cents per $100 of assessed property value. If approved, the tax increase would cost the owner of a $300,000 home about $1,365.
The rate includes the 3-cent tax increase to partly support the debt service and operations for Community Center North, a proposed two-story 76,950 square foot recreation facility with a 2020 space parking lot on 5.14 acres at 4525 Hilltop Needmore Road.
In 2021, voters approved a bond referendum for parks and recreation projects with the notion that it would come with a 4.5 cent adjustment tax rate. Included in the bond was the community center that could come with an adult center, three basketball courts, and an indoor track.
The town board said then that they would mitigate the impact of the community center through tax base growth and leveraging other funding sources. Mitchell said the town used those strategies to get grant funding and managed costs for the center while “mitigating the impact of the tax rate.”
The estimated completion cost for the community center is $25 million and construction is set to start this summer.
Additionally, there will be a solid waste monthly fee increase of $1 for residents from $20 to $21 a month.
New jobs & raises
Beginning on July 3, all regular, full-time employees will be eligible for a merit salary increase of up to 3%. Additionally, all regular, full-time employees will get a Cost of Living Adjustment of 4%.
Within the 24 new positions, 21 of them are in public works, including two new sanitation workers; engineering; fire; parks and recreation; and the arts center.
The proposed budget also calls for the addition of 11 new positions in the town’s police department. Six new officers will be added to patrols, the downtown district and to the traffic unit, and three will be added as school resource officers. The department will also get a new telecommunication position and an accreditation specialist.
Three other new positions included are a wastewater treatment plant operator, a collections pump maintenance mechanic, and a water utility system operator.
Other budget highlights
The proposed budget includes investments in water, wastewater and transportation infrastructure, all current priorities for the town.
The town’s public works department has joined other towns, Sanford and Holly Springs, to build a regional Sanford Water Treatment Plant. The town is also expanding the Northern Harnett County Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Terrible Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant.
To cover the costs for the water projects, residents will see a 20% water and sewer base rate increase, bringing the usage rate of water to $6.82 and $8 for sewer per 1,000 gallons.
What’s next?
The public hearing for the budget will be held on May 16 at the next town council meeting. The budget can be found on Fuquay-Varina’s town website.
Residents can review the budget online and provide any feedback or input until June 5.
The town is scheduled to adopt the budget on June 5 and if approved, it will go into effect on July 1 until June 30, 2024.
“The theme of the budget this year is ‘investing in our future,’” Mitchell said at the meeting. “It is built on the philosophy of coinciding with the town’s strategic plan, its core values, and the objectives and goals identified in the strategic plan.
This story was originally published May 5, 2023 at 7:30 AM with the headline "Fuquay-Varina’s new $57M budget adds jobs, funds projects. What it means for taxes.."