by Geoff Fox

Town officials approved the $2.17 million fiscal year 2027 budget during their June town meeting last Tuesday, June 9. The budget is lower than the 2026 fiscal year by a small margin.

The town is projecting  revenue in the amount of $2,166,358 from general fund, water, wastewater, and sanitation departments.

The expenses from the same categories is projected to total $2,713,500, meaning the town will have to tap into other sources of revenue or carryover to cover expenses.

In the general fund budget, in year-to-year comparisons, saw the town budget $1,417,300 for fiscal year 2026, but it ended up being $1,562,232. For the fiscal year 2027, the town has projected $1,361,050.

The police department saw a decrease in the projected fiscal year budget.

The department was projected to spend $72,500 in FY 26, but had actual expenses of $46,227. This year’s proposed police budget is $57,000.

Cuts were made to travel, meetings, and conferences as there was $1,000 budgeted for those. This year sees the projection cut in half to $500. Other decreases in projected expenses for the coming year apply to line items include ammunition, newspaper ads, office equipment maintenance, medical exams and drug testing, and public relations.

There was an increase in grant matches as last year saw a projection of $35,500, but the town needed $11,225. This year has a $15,000 projection for grant matches.

One of the biggest decreases is visible in the parks and recreation budget.

Last year, the projected budget was $33,000 with a total of $6,282. This year the projection is $9,500.

While budgeted last year, there were three categories that didn’t see any costs – maintenance to the playgrounds, rail trail or pavilions.

Only ball fields, operating supplies for the parks, and tree planning and related services saw anything paid out. Each had their projection cut drastically from last year.

There is also an increase in anticipated utility costs

One is cellphones which sees a jump from $14,000 projection in 2026 to $17,000 in 2027. The town paid out $16,153 for cellphones last year.

This line item led to a longer discussion during the budget meeting prior to the regular meeting between Mayor Roland Lanehart, Jr. and Councilman Richard Strong.

Strong questioned why the town was paying the $14,000 a year for the phone service, stating it was ridiculous paying that much.

All town employees and council members have a phone provided to them, except Strong who never had one given to him, he said.

The costs include hotspots within the town for the cameras in the park and water department, as well as iPads.

Strong said he was just looking at the money side of things for taxpayers.

Lanehart said a lot of the cellular technology is tied up in the water and wastewater departments, police department, and Public Works so they don’t have to use their personal phones for town business.

The town office did go through the cellular phone account and made sure all the numbers attached were still active and clean it up.

Lanehart said it was up to the council to decide as he wasn’t going to complain about town employees having cellphones.

Strong wasn’t arguing against town employees having cellphones, just the cost.

Strong then asked why the town office has a cellphone when they have phones already available.

The cellphone for the office I for the system town uses for receiving codes for things payroll and taxes. This way, office staff isn’t using their personal phones to access town accounts.

Strong said there are plans available that aren’t as much as the $14,000.

The town has their phones through AT&T and allows for coverage should there be a disaster in town.

The town also projects $232,500 in expenses for administration expenses. That is under what was projected for 2026 when it was $270,000 with actual $257,681.

Attorney fees were budgeted last fiscal year at $40,000, but only $19,622 was paid out. The town cut the projection in half to $20,000 for fiscal year 2027.

When it came to water/wastewater consulting, the town had projected $50,000 last fiscal year with an actual expense of $54,642. This year it is projected to be $50,000.

This also got Strong’s attention during the earlier budget discussion.

The town is currently without a licensed water or wastewater supervisor and have hired a licensed operator to serve in the role in the meantime.

The town’s previous supervisor had stepped down, which Strong agreed with.

Lanehart said the town must have someone with a license doing that particular job, which Strong said he understood. The current employees are still taking the tests to get the licenses as fast as they can.

Strong said by looking at some of the numbers, he has to question the costs.

“We can’t replace her right now is the problem,” Lanehart said.

The mayor said they’ve tried getting someone, but no one has applied for the position.

“If somebody applies for the job tomorrow, we’ll interview them and hire them,” Lanehart said.

Lanehart asked Strong if he knew someone who was qualified for the job for less money. Strong said he didn’t and wasn’t looking.

The mayor tried to get the meeting back on course and talking about the budget, but the argument continued a few minutes longer.

There was a point when Strong alleged he was told by town officials he was considered an outsider, which Lanehart said never happened.

As the argument continued Councilman David Kerns interjected to get back to discussing the budget, which is what the meeting was about.

Strong said he was trying to save the taxpayers money by questioning the cellphone costs and the amount paid to the wastewater operator.

Between the two meetings, Lanehart and Strong continued their discussion in the parking lot. There were times it got loud enough to be heard in the council chambers.

During the regular meeting, no further conflict was raised.

A copy of the 2027 fiscal year budget can be reviewed at Town Hall.