When the Franklin Town Council meets next week, they will hold a public hearing on the town’s proposed budget for 2025-26. The budget shows a 5% increase including a cost of living adjustment for employees. Property owners can expect their tax rate to remain the same, but the rates will go up for water customers.
Town Manager Amie Owens said in developing the budget, she and the department heads tried to keep expenditures in line with the current year’s budget; however due to rising costs most departments are showing increases.
The General Fund budget shows an increase in expenditures from $5,197,500 for the current fiscal year to $5,603,500. The police department budget is within the General Fund and is budgeted at $1,974,283, up from $1,809,967 for the current year.
The Fire Department budget increased from $1,638.019 to $1,665,257 and includes $44,842.33 in debt service for the substation on NP&L Loop.
The Water/Sewer Fund budget is proposed to increase from $5,105,930.03 to $5,390,821.79, including $463,986.79 in debt service. There is a proposed 10% water/sewer rate increase to help cover the rising costs of chemicals and materials and infrastructure improvements.
The Capital Improvement Plan the town adopted in 2020 recommended a 5% rate increase each year. One year the increase was 3%. Owens said the plan was approved at the beginning of the pandemic. There was no way at that time to anticipate the “dramatic increase” in costs and the supply chain issues.
The water/sewer budget will require a $729,071.79 appropriation from retained earnings to balance the department’s budget. The water/sewer budget includes capital outlays of $200,000 for improvements, $44,000 for sewer lines and $656,155 for water lines.
In her budget message to the council, Owens stated, “High inflation rates have created cost pressure on almost every aspect of our budget. Lasting supply chain disruptions continue, uncertainty related to tariffs and increased demand for material goods are combining to create extreme price increases that have caused the cost of most goods to increase from just a year ago.”
The budget includes a 4% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for the employees, which has not been requested since 2021. There is also a request for an increase in the stipend for the mayor and Town Council members; the stipend has not been increased in 16 years. The proposed stipend increase is $200 per position per month with the council receiving $500 per council member, $600 for vice mayor and $800 for the mayor. The stipend increase would go into effect in January 2026.
Some of the increases the town has little control over include 4% in healthcare insurance costs, 3.3% in dental care, retirement contributions, 10% in workers compensation and property and liability insurance, and 10% in utility costs.
As revenue is expected to increase, Owens said they were able to balance the budget without a property tax increase. The proposed budget maintains the current property tax rate of 33 cents per $100 valuation. The fire tax also will remain at its current level of 7 cents per $100 valuation.
During the budget work session on May 19, council member Rita Salain asked that $30,000 be added to the budget to possibly contract with someone to assist with beautification and maintenance of the public spaces. The Franklin Garden Club is budgeted to receive its annual allotment of $7,500 for beautification work it does for the town. (This year the Garden Club received $9,000 due to extra projects).
However, Salain pointed out that the Garden Club cannot maintain all the spaces and that it had previously been said that the town’s facilities and property maintenance employee, Gio Hernandez, cannot do all the work himself.
“Whatever we’re doing ain’t working,” she said. “We’ve got projects that need work.”
Council member David Culpepper said he thought the town looked good and would like to see a list of areas that Salain suggests need improvement before spending the money.
The $30,000 will be appropriated from the fund balance and added to the streets department budget.
It was also suggested the town could ask the Tourism Development Authority to contribute toward the beautification costs. This year the TDA allocated $13,000 to help replace the old street banners.
Some of the other budget items added this year include:
• $10,000 to Economic Development for incentives the council discussed offering to assist local businesses (new and existing), bringing the total line item to $60,000.
• $25,000 for roundabout beautification.
• $227,443 for improvements to the Greenway connector.
The budget also includes $8,000 in election expenses as 2025 is a municipal election year.
In looking at future budget items, council member Mike Lewis suggested a “walk audit” to help identify the needs in neighborhoods around town. He said while doing that they could host a small block party and serve refreshments and invite people to come out and talk about concerns in their neighborhoods.
Capital improvement projects
The Capital Improvement Plan includes $8,839,684 in improvements, equipment, vehicles and other items. Some of the items include:
Whitmire property: inclusive play area $1,234,600 (plus $500,000 from a PARTF grant received).
Police department: $11,829 for taser replacements, $100,000 for vehicles (2).
Facilities: $30,000 to replace the 14-year-old generator at town hall.
IT: $25,000 for equipment.
Planning and Economic Development: $8,000 for a new plotter; the current one is more than 10 years old.
Public Works - $30,350 for generators for pump station, $80,000 for vehicle replacement (2), $243,750 water meters, $15,000 for fire hydrants, and 175,000 for sidewalk improvements on Iotla Street.
Projects paid for from the Powell Bill funds include $97,000 for paving and $19,000 for equipment (a second electronic sign)
Water: The clearwell replacement is the big-ticket item coming up for the water department and is estimated at $5.2 million. The current clearwell is 56,000 gallons with three 50-horsepower pumps. The new clearwell would increase capacity to 250,000 gallons with two high-service pumps.
The budget work session also included a presentation from First Tryon Advisors, which helps local governments plan for capital improvements and their ongoing maintenance. They presented three options for paying for the clearwell project – cash only, financing, or a mix of cash and financing.
Mayor Jack Horton said they are also still looking for grants and other funding sources to help pay for the project.
Other capital improvements for the water department include the Siler Road water loop $656,155; raw water pump replacement, $95,000; window and door replacements, $25,000; roof replacement, $45,000 and ADA compliant bathroom upfits $29,000.
Fire department: replace pumper truck ($60,000) and replace pumper/tanker truck ($160,000). The down payment on the new pumper truck was made last year – the truck has been ordered and Owens said it should be ready in late 2026. Specifications have not been received for a new pumper/tanker to replace the department’s 29-year-old pumper/tanker.
A copy of the budget can be viewed on the town’s website at franklinnc.com. A copy is also available at Town Hall. The public hearing on the budget will be held during the next regular Town Council meeting, beginning at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 2.