Smithfield
Town Council
     report from budget sessions
held April 22, 26, 27

Mayor Andy Moore, Councilmen David Barbour, John Dunn, Steve Rabil, and Travis Scott attended all three sessions; Marlin Lee was absent April 22; David Stevens was absent April 26; Roger Wood was absent April 27.

TWEAKING OF ELECTRIC RATES RECOMMENDED

At the start of Tuesday evening's budget session the council received a consultant's report recommending a "revenue neutral" tweaking of the town's electric rates. Mark Beauchamp of Utility Financial Services presented a rate plan designed to align those rates closer to "cost of service."

If accepted, the plan would slightly raise the flat "customer charge" on monthly bills while reducing rates per kilowatt-hour consumed during each billing period. For instance, a residential customer's basic monthly fee would rise from $11 to $12 while the "energy rate" would drop by a fraction of a cent per KWH.

Overall, the change would produce an increase of 0.17% in monthly residential bills, although higher-use customers would likely see a decrease, Mr. Beauchamp told the council.

The consultant said the town's Electric Fund has a healthy balance that shouldn't require an overall increase in rates for a couple of more years. Beyond that, anticipated hikes in wholesale rates charged the town for power it purchases will likely require retail rate increases of 2% in 2024 and 2025, Mr. Beauchamp said.

Town Manager Mike Scott said Smithfield's churches have complained about the town's peak-demand charge that's assessed when Sunday worship services spike power consumption. Mr. Beauchamp suggested the town consider "a special rate for churches" since their peak-demand readings occur on a day of the week that's "off peak" for most commercial customers.

The council took no action Tuesday on the consultant's recommendations.


SEVERAL ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES REQUESTED

Manager Scott's "draft" budget includes funding for a number of new employees:
• Two more positions in the Sanitation Department (to be covered by $1 monthly hikes in billings for residential garbage collection and yard-waste pickups).
• A second "IT" (Information Technology) technician.
• An additional water-plant operator (prompted by the current expansion project).
• An additional water and sewer pump mechanic.
• Two more electrical linemen (a response to the town's real-estate development).
• A half-time mechanic to help the lone full-time mechanic in the Town Garage.

In addition, Finance Director Greg Siler is requesting another customer-service employee at Town Hall. That's not included in the manager's draft at this point.


NON-PROFITS MAKE ANNUAL DONATION REQUESTS

The council on Monday heard from representatives of non-profit organizations and public agencies that have been receiving annual donations from the town in recent years. Here's a rundown of their requests, which are funded in the draft budget as it now stands:

• Harbor Inc. --- $2,500 (same amount as this year).
• Community & Senior Services of Johnston County --- $3,500 (unchanged).
• Ava Gardner Museum --- $22,000 (unchanged).
• Triangle East Economic Development Foundation --- $4,000 (unchanged).
• Smithfield Rescue Mission --- $3,500 (unchanged).

The Annie D. Jones Child Enrichment Fund, which got $3,000 this past year, asked to be removed from this year's list of recipients, the town manager noted.

Manager Scott said the Public Library of Johnston County and Smithfield originally requested an increase in town assistance from $270,000 this past year to $296,000 but has agreed to keep the amount unchanged for another year.


YEARLY DONATIONS INCLUDED FOR LOCAL SCHOOLS

The town also makes yearly donations to local schools, and most of those amounts remain unchanged in the manager's draft budget.

Scheduled to receive $1,000 grants are Neuse Charter School, Smithfield Middle School, Smithfield-Selma High, and the Johnston County Career & Technical Leadership Academy.

West Smithfield Elementary got $2,000 this past year and will be joined this coming year in receiving that amount by South Smithfield Elementary and the Innovation Academy at South Campus. Councilman Wood requested that Smithfield-Selma High be added to that group.


CONCERNS ABOUT METER-READING EXPENSES

Reacting to a report at Thursday's session about the slow pace of converting Smithfield's electric and water meters to an automated system, Councilman Travis Scott insisted during Tuesday's session that town staff take another look at contracts the town continues to pay for meter readers.

Reviewing recent town budgets, he found more than $3 million has been spent on this project yet anticipated savings from replacing on-the-ground meter readers with a remote digital system haven't been produced.

Utilities Director Ted Credle said the problem is software that hasn't been able to merge electric and water readings for billing (most of Smithfield is served by both electric and water systems operated by the town, but West Smithfield gets its power from Duke Energy). That's why the town continues to rely on contractors to read meters even though many of the town's meters have been upgraded for the automated system, the council was told.

Councilman Scott asked Mr. Credle and the town manager to review the situation and bring back better options for the council to consider as it moves toward adoption of the new year's budget.

The council recessed Tuesday's session until 6:30 p.m Monday (May 3) to continue perusing the proposed budget with the manager and department heads.
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