The Stuart Town Council approved its fiscal year 2026-27 budget and a water and sewer rate increase at its June 17 meeting.
The balanced budget totals $2,396,529, according to Town Manager Bryce Simmons.
“We have a general fund and unassigned fund balance of about $3.9 million, and that comes from the 2025 audit. One thing I do want to note is that we have proposed a deficit budget for this year, and that is represented in the general revenues. We are running a deficit of about $25,972,” Simmons said.
He said the deficit budget was adopted to help offset increases in the town’s water and sewer fund.
“We are offsetting our enterprise fund, which is our water and our sewer accounts, with general fund revenues of $283,521,” he said.
Council member Erica Wade said she appreciates the budget committee for its work on this year’s budget.
“We’d like to thank Mr. Bryce. He made our job easier,” Mayor Terry Dalton said.
The council also approved increasing the base water and sewer rate for in-town customers from $21.11 to $22.50, effective July 1.
Simmons said rates have not increased significantly since he became town manager about five years ago.
“The cost of chemicals to treat, power, all things involved has gone up approximately 30 percent in the past three to four years, so I did feel it was necessary to do a rate analysis. To balance out our enterprise fund, meaning for our water and our sewer, and our sanitation to pay for itself, that was going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $40 per customer per month, and that’s just too much for our residents to take on at one time,” he said.
Simmons said the Public Service Authority (PSA) rate reflects the cost of producing water.
“So we are looking at, for PSA, it costs us about $6.28 per 1,000 gallons to make and produce water, and it takes about $8.52 per 1,000 gallons to treat sewer water. I felt it was important to keep our residential customers under that wholesale rate, so the proposed price per 1,000 gallons that you will see in our water and our sewer rates is below that rate,” Simmons said.
Town Attorney Chris Corbett asked why it was important to keep residential rates below the wholesale rate.
“The reason that I felt it was important, and it was critical, was to not be charging town customers more than we charge county customers. That was my rationale for keeping it below that wholesale rate,” Simmons said.
He said the increase was the smallest the town could adopt without worsening its financial position.
“This is the first time that I’ve put together a deficit budget, and I hope that I don’t have to continue to do that,” Simmons said.
In other matters, the council:
*Discussed roofing issues at the Star Theatre and the possibility that it could remain closed for the rest of the year rather than reopening in October.
Crews have discovered moisture issues beneath the vinyl siding covering the roof that must be evaluated before the theater can reopen.
Earlier this year, Simmons said, “We’ve been having some humidity issues that are up under the vinyl siding that covers the roof area, so we will have to be pulling all of that vinyl siding down to evaluate the condition up under the ceiling.”
Simmons said condensation was found beneath the vinyl siding during the warmer months.
“That’s a condition that we didn’t know about when the Star Theatre was purchased, and I don’t know if even the” former owners “understood what was happening until there was someone in there to observe what was going on,” he has said.
Addressing the moisture is necessary to preserve the historic building, he added.
“Where part of the building is underground, we have some humidity that builds up, especially in the basement. We have it building up between the ceiling and the roof. So we do want to address those situations to keep the Star Theatre from moisture problems,” he has said.
Earlier this year, the town ordered the necessary equipment for the HVAC and other work, and an evaluation before installation began.
Previously, the town received a $154,556 Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission grant for improvements to the theater, including a professional projector and screen, new stage curtains and replacement of the HVAC system. Work was scheduled to begin in early June.
“Once that’s done we should be able to open up,” Simmons said at the time.
The theater had been expected to reopen in October following renovations, but it may remain closed for the rest of the year.
*Directed Simmons to sign a consent order and pay a Department of Environmental Quality fine, pending his communications with the agency and concurrence from Corbett.
*Heard an update on the Virginia Retirement System.
*Approved advertising for a community coordinator position.
*Received an update on public works projects.
*Approved the May meeting minutes.
*Paid the bills.
Vice Mayor Dave Hoback was absent.
