City Council approves Lumberton budget for FY22-23

Jun. 9—LUMBERTON — The City of Lumberton's financial plans for the immediate future were endorsed by the City Council Wednesday when the board approved the city's operating budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The balanced budget allocates for $92,224,430 in expenditures; this is a 3.25% increase from the 2021-22 fiscal year budget of $89,317,740.

The budget was approved with no public comments or discussion from the board; Council had previously held a budget workshop.

"Mayor, Council, you've got a copy of the proposed budget in front of you," City Manager Wayne Horne said. "The proposed budget has been placed in the city clerk's office, East Lumberton Resource Center, Dr. (Robert L.) Jones Resource Center, Robeson County Public Library and online at the Lumberton city website."

Nearly every department will see a budget increase, the largest of which is in the water and sewer fund; after it accounted for $14,203,550 in the 2021-22 fiscal year budget, that number will increase to $16,724,085 for 2022-23, a difference of $2,520,535, or 17.74%.

The light and power fund also has a large budget increase over over $1 million, from $36,218,090 in 2021-22 to $37,834,345 in 2022-23.

The general fund budget will increase only slightly; after a budget of $30,308,740 in 2021-22 it will increase to $30,722,575 in 2022-23, a $383,835 difference.

The emergency telephone will see the largest percentage increase, going from $18,445 to $146,050.

In other departments: the sanitation fund will increase $349,895 to $2,187,160; the law enforcement separation fund will increase $11,705 to $280,880; the fleet maintenance fund will increase $85,610 to $1,018,645.

Funds which will see a budget decrease include the insurance fund, which will drop by $430,560 to $7,005,870, and the grant loan fund, which will drop by $17,185, nearly half, to $17,815.

The city's tax levy will remain $0.65 for each $100 of assessed valuation of taxable property. Energy rates for city power and water will be adjusted to increase by 2.75%, effective July 1. The hauled waste fee will be adjusted to $0.0415 per gallon.

City employees will earn a 2.5% cost-of-living-adjustment raise, effective July 1.

In other business, Council moved forward with several items which will help first responders in continuing to serve the city's residents, approving four purchases for the Lumberton Fire Department and the purchase of bulletproof vests for the Lumberton Police Department.

Three of the fire department's purchases pertain to water rescues, particularly noteworthy in the city after floods during Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018. These purchases include two water rescue inflatable boats for swiftwater operations, portable radios for the LFD's Swiftwater Team and a purchase of water-rescue equipment including drysuits, rope, personal protective equipment and life safety equipment necessary for deployable water resume operations during emergencies.

The cost for these purchases will be covered by funds provided by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety; the cost of the inflatable boats is $25,548, the radios will cost $11,043.80 and the water rescue equipment costs $22,789.84.

"The boats will be used for specialized water-rescue operations within the city, as well as being a regional asset for the state of North Carolina," Lumberton Fire Chief Christopher West said. "The boats will facilitate improved water-rescue operations and increase the department's capabilities in the event of an emergency or disaster event."

The fourth fire department-related purchase was of turnout gear washers and dryers for three of its stations. The cost was $32,290.14, including $2,000 allocated for shipping; $20,000 was budgeted for this, and supplemental funding to cover the purchase came from unused administrative salaries available due to a vacant staff position.

The 14 bulletproof vests, to be purchased for use by the Lumberton Police Department, will replace existing vests used by the SWAT team. Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant funds will help pay for the vests, which cost $30,800 with a 50% match.

In other business, Council:

— Approved the purchase of an F-150 4×4 pickup truck by the Public Works Department at a price of $34,190.44; there was $35,000 allocated for this purchase in the current year's fiscal budget.

— Approved a traffic signal upgrade at the intersection of North Chestnut Street and Elizabethtown Road. The city had one bid, from Fulcher Electric, for $45,024.75.

— Appointed Chris Locklear, Tim Little, Steve Branch and Kewanda Merritt to the Main Street Advisory Board; existing members Janell Carroll, Dencie Lambdin, David McClish and Scott Bigelow will continue as board members and Councilman Chris Howard will continue as the board's Council liaison.

— Agreed to forgive a loan from the Robeson County Public Library for $64,275 covering cost overruns on recent facade work. Because the city provides substantial funding for the library already, the money would likely either come from the city to repay the loan if it was not forgiven, City Attorney Holt Moore said.

Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at cstiles@robesonian.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @StilesOnSports.