Draft town budget: tax
rate "less than 50 cents"
Unsettled variables make it difficult to
pin down exact figure
Smithfield's
Town Manager Mike Scott
presented his "draft" to
the Town Council during a
budget workshop Monday
with what could be called
a "teaser" regarding a new
property-tax rate
resulting from recent
real-estate revaluation by
the county.
With overall real-estate
values in Smithfield
Township up by 70.6%, most
residents face potentially
extra-large hikes in their
annual property-tax bills
– if the Town of
Smithfield's tax rate were
to remain unchanged at 57
cents per $100 valuation
where it's been for a
number of years.
But it's a safe bet the
Town Council will reduce
that rate, just as
Johnston's County
Commissioners are almost
certain to reduce the
county's current rate of
67 cents. The question is
how much can those rates
be cut without undermining
tax revenues necessary to
balance town and county
budgets as required by
state law.
"The tax rate has been
decreased to an amount
less than 50 cents," Town
Manager Scott wrote in his
"FY 2026 Letter of
Transmittal" that
accompanied his draft
budget presented to the
council. The letter does
not mention a specific
rate, which he said "will
remain fluid due to
revaluation appeals and
appeal findings and final
decisions by the Town
Council" on what's to be
included or not in the new
budget.
Mr. Scott's draft includes
$2 million taken out of
General Fund Balance (the
town's reserve fund) for a
stepped-up
street-resurfacing
program, with another $2
million "expected" to come
out of reserves for
additional street repairs.
Major equipment purchases
in the draft budget
include two large items
for Public Works: a new
"knuckleboom" truck for
trash pickups and a new
street sweeper at a cost
of more than
half-a-million dollars for
the two.
New personnel in Mr.
Scott's draft: three
firefighters, a fire
inspector, a police
service aide, and a
water-and-sewer
line-locator and
inspector. (Fire Chief
Jeremey Daughtry asked the
council during a budget
session earlier this month
for 21 additional
firefighters. He suggested
that expense could be
covered initially by
federal grants if such
funding remains available
during the year ahead.)
Beyond the General Fund,
Mr. Scott's draft budget
includes $1.2 million in
the Water and Sewer Fund
for water-line
improvements in the
eastern and southern
sectors of town, $350,000
for "inflow and
infiltration" problems in
the town's sewer system,
and $225,000 to purchase a
replacement VAC (vacuum)
truck for sewer
clean-outs.
The council recessed
Monday's meeting until
6:45 p.m. today (Thursday)
to continue budget
discussions. Manager Scott
said he's aiming to
present his "proposed"
budget May 21, based on
the council's
deliberations between now
and then. The budget must
be adopted by July 1, the
start of a new fiscal year
for the town.
Among citizens listening to town staff
reports at last week's
forum were Dr. Gettys
Cohen, Elizabeth Lynn,
Georgia Williams, and
Betty Lee. (Town of
Smithfield photo)
Police
chief addresses East
Smithfield concerns
The
first of four "Government
In-Touch" forums for
citizens to voice their
concerns as the town's
leaders put together the
coming year's budget drew
a dozen East Smithfield
residents to the Sarah
Yard Center last Thursday
evening. Most of their
concerns revolved around
public safety.
Police Chief Pete Hedrick
said his department is now
"fully staffed" and
thereby able to respond
more appropriately to
complaints about issues
like loud music and
speeding. "I hope you see
them more in your
neighborhood," he said in
reference to his
patrolmen.
The chief was asked about
training his officers in
"crisis intervention,"
especially in how to deal
with mental handicaps. "We
have five or six trained,"
he replied. "I'd like to
get all the officers
trained," with a focus on
"de-escalation," he said.
Councilman Marlon Lee, who
represents East
Smithfield, asked the
chief about "community
policing," pointing out
that the town had a police
officer stationed as a
resident in his district
some years back. Mr.
Hedrick said he'd like to
have each segment of town
served by an officer
"who's accountable for his
area."
Another aspect of public
safety that was addressed
is the status of smoke
detectors in residences.
Fire Chief Jeremey
Daughtry touted his
department's annual
campaign to install and
replace smoke detectors in
homes of anyone who
requests assistance. "A
lot of people do not have
smoke detectors," he
noted. "Call us and we'll
help you."
Other concerns voiced by
those present included
long wait times at Market
Street traffic signals,
vehicles backed up because
of the two-lane railroad
underpass, poorly lighted
neighborhood
intersections, and
drainage issues,
especially in Pine Acres
off East Market Street.
Manager Scott said the
town has taken the
traffic-signal complaint
to the N.C. Department of
Transportation, which is
responsible for Market
Street's maintenance, "but
we haven't gotten a report
back yet."
Mayor Andy Moore said he
has been requesting action
to widen the underpass for
many years, but NCDOT and
the CSX railroad aren't
pursuing the project.
A question came up about
operation of the Fifth
Street Community Garden,
which has been disrupted
by alterations to Spring
Branch. Town Manager Scott
said the plan is to
rebuild the planters this
spring on the north side
of the stream.
Three more "Government
In-Touch" forums are
scheduled:
• Thursday, April 3 at
Fire Station No. 2 in West
Smithfield..
• Tuesday, April 8 at
South Smithfield
Elementary School.
• Thursday, April 10 at
the Recreation and
Aquatics Center on the
north side of town.
Business
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Fiscally
"sound" county sells
more school bonds
It
was announced during the
Johnston County
Commissioners' annual
Strategic Planning Session
that $100 million of the
county bond issue approved
by voters last year for
school construction was
sold to investors at noon
Wednesday at an interest
rate of 3.4% over a
payback period of 20
years.
That favorable rate of
interest is the latest
product of last year's
achievement of a AAA bond
rating for the County of
Johnston – the highest
rating awarded by the
major bonding agencies.
Kyle Laux of
Richmond-based Davenport
& Company – the
county's financial
advisors since 1999 – told
commissioners Wednesday
that Johnston has saved
$31 million as a result of
bond-rating upgrades over
the past quarter of a
century plus another $45
million in savings from
refinancing of loans as
interest rates dropped
with the county's rising
bond ratings.
"You're in very strong
financial shape," Mr. Laux
declared.
The county currently holds
in reserve a cash amount
equal to about 70% of its
annual General Fund and
could afford to reduce
that Fund Balance to
40-50% without
jeopardizing its high bond
rating, Mr. Laux told
commissioners. "That's
probably the right place
to me," he advised.
Starting with last year's
Strategic Planning
retreat, the board has
been drawing down the Fund
Balance primarily to meet
capital needs but also
enabling "full funding"
for Johnston County Public
Schools while cutting the
property-tax rate.
Commissioners were
scheduled to wrap up their
two-day planning retreat
today (Thursday) with
discussions about
priorities, especially
capital projects, as they
begin working on the
2025-26 county budget. The
sessions have been
live-streamed – and
archived for viewing at
any time – on the
county's YouTube
channel>
County
elections director is
association's president
Leigh
Anne Price, director of
the Johnston County Board
of Elections office, is
the new president of the
N.C. Association of
Directors of Elections.
She had been serving as
vice president of the
organization the past two
years.
"I am
honored to serve as
president of NCADE and
look forward to working
with my fellow members to
ensure that all North
Carolina voters have
access to fair and secure
elections," she said. "As
we continue to navigate
the challenges of the
current political
landscape, I am committed
to upholding the integrity
of our democratic process
and promoting transparency
and accountability in all
aspects of election
administration."
She's pictured with Butch
Lawter, chairman of the
Johnston County Board of
Commissioners, following
her swearing-in at the
association's annual
conference in Durham on
Monday. (Photo from
County of Johnston
Public Information
Office)
Johnston Community College
hosted an NCWorks Job Fair
earlier this month when
nearly 30 employers
connected with 350 job
seekers. Among participating
employers were Novo Nordisk,
Caterpillar, OPW, Johnston
County Public Schools, the
County of Johnston, and the
N.C. Department of
Transportation. (JCC photo)
Record 124,107
Johnstonians employed
in January
The
latest monthly report from
the N.C.
Department of Commerce
showed 124,107 Johnston
County residents employed
in January – an all-time
high. That was a jump from
an estimated 107,868
holding jobs here in
December. At the same
time, the number of
Johnstonians filing for
unemployment benefits
increased from 3,378 in
December to 4,161 in
January, producing a
jobless rate of 3.2%,
which was up from a
revised 2.8% at the end of
2024. Both the state and
national unemployment rate
for January was 4.0%.
Johnston's
retail sales were up
10.2% at year's end
The
N.C.
Department of Revenue
reports that retail sales
in Johnston County during
October, November, and
December of 2024 totaled
$933,752,184 – an increase
of 10.2% over
fourth-quarter sales of
$847,590,518 at the end of
2023. That's good news for
Johnston's local
governments as they
prepare budgets for the
upcoming fiscal year.
Sales taxes account for a
significant portion of
their revenues.
WHAT'S COMING UP
Listed
here are community
events open to the
public free of admission
charge:
Wreath
laying for Vietnam
veterans Saturday
afternoon
The
Smth-Bryan Chapter, NSDAR
will conduct its annual
wreath-laying ceremony
honoring military veterans
of the Vietnam War at 3
p.m. Saturday in front of
the Johnston County
Courthouse in Smithfield.
A reception for veterans
will follow at the Masonic
Lodge at 913 S. Bright
Leaf Boulevard.
JCC will host conference for writers
Monday-Thursday
The
English Department at
Johnston Community College
will present its inaugural
Writers' Week next Monday
through Thursday including
faculty-led writing
workshops, creative-writing
student panels, a panel
featuring local authors, and
the recognition of Cynthia
DeFord Adams Literary
Competition winners. The
event will culminate with a
reading by National Book
Award-winner Jason Mott,
author of Hell of a
Book, at 12:30 p.m.
Thursday in the Paul A.
Johnston Auditorium. All
sessions are open to the
public free of charge. Here's the
full schedule (advance
sign-ups requested)>
Town
Council to present Ham
& Yam design award
Monday
The
Smithfield Town Council
will present the 2025 Ham
& Yam Festival Tee
Shirt & Poster Design
Award when it meets at 7
p.m. Tuesday at Town Hall.
The council will also
receive plans for
improving storm-water flow
along Spring Branch at
Second and Fourth streets.
VIEW the
complete agenda for
Tuesday's meeting>
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A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM
THE EDITOR
Commissioners
get lesson on economics
of growth
Johnston's
County Commissioners spent
an hour of their annual
Strategic Planning Session
on Wednesday with a
professor of economics
from N.C. State University
who addressed a timely hot
topic: "Economic Costs of
Land Use Decisions."
Jeffrey Dorfman has spent
more than 30 years
studying the economic
impact of real-estate
development in
fast-growing counties like
Johnston (most of those
years in Georgia where he
served as an advisor to
that state's governor).
He brought numbers to back
up a long-held belief
among local government
leaders about the impact
of residential vs.
commercial development on
property taxation:
• For residential,
real-estate taxes produce
87 cents for each $1 spent
for local services
required for those new
residents.
• For commercial,
real-estate taxes bring in
$3.45 per $1 spent on
local services.
• Agriculture, meanwhile,
generates $2.70 per $1
spent on services.
Those numbers don't mean
county commissioners
should give priority to
commercial development
over residential. After
all, you've got to have
more residents to support
the additional commercial
amenities most folks
expect. It's a balancing
act to get the right mix
of residential and
commercial to prevent
burdensome taxation on
citizens, said Dr.
Dorfman.
There was much more than
that in the professor's
presentation. For
instance, he offered
evidence against a public
perception that
multi-family housing
lowers the property values
of nearby single-family
dwellings. And he made a
convincing case that
small-lot subdivisions
rather than sprawling
developments with large
lots are better for
farmland preservation.
His presentation may have
a profound influence on
Johnston's commissioners
as they delve into a
re-writing of the county's
land-use ordinances this
year.
You may view
Dr. Dorfman's hour-long
presentation on the
county's YouTube
channel: advance the
recording to the 2:55:00
mark)>
Redbuds
in this week's starring
role
A
number of Smithfield's
yards host the
lavendar-leafed redbud
tree as March draws to a
close. This magnificent
specimen graces a yard on
River Birch Court. This
variety of trees is
prevalent in the wild this
time of year as one can
see while riding through
woodlands in North
Carolina's Upper Coastal
Plain and Piedmont.
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