By Staff Reports
Following a public hearing at its May 19 monthly meeting, the Stuart Town Council voted unanimously to adopt the fiscal year 2021-2022 budget as presented.
The total general fund expenses for the budget are $790,050. The increase in the general fund balance is $150,350. The major expenses are $60,000 for debt retirement, which is down from $64,000 in FY 2020-2021, $295,000 for salaries and wages, which is an increase of $73,500 from FY 2020-2021, and $90,000 for professional services, down by $15,000. All town employees will receive a $1 per hour raise in the upcoming year.
Mayor Ray Weiland said that the overall budget only increased by approximately $6,000 to $7,000. This left the tally of the adopted budget at about $1.77 million.
Weiland said the town is “on target” with the budget and “way ahead in some areas. We’ve spent a little extra money here and there, but overall we’ve done very well. We’ve done a great job.”
He also clarified that the only change in Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) taxes would come in retail.
“We are going from 10-cents per $100 to 13-cents per $100 only on the retail portion of it,” Weiland said. “That’s pretty much the only thing there.”
Bryce Simmons, director of the Patrick County Economic Development Authority, asked the council if the town would consider placing a cap on the BPOL tax for manufacturing and industries.
Weiland said the town used to implement a wholesale tax of about 8-cents per $100 under BPOL for manufacturers when there were more factories in Stuart.
“That was the only thing that I can remember that factories were paying into it,” he said. “We used to have a cap on BPOL but we eliminated that several years ago.”
Weiland said that if a factory is interested in setting up operations in the town, the council would be willing to consider changes to the tax to accommodate their needs.
“We would absolutely be willing to make some concessions to entice someone to bring their business,” he said. “I’m sure the council here would be more than pleased to discuss any package for anyone coming into town.”
Additionally, Weiland explained that property taxes would be revenue neutral for the upcoming year.
“As the county has gone through another reassessment of properties, some of the properties are going to be higher and some of the properties are going to be lower,” he said. “So, if we want to be revenue neutral then we have to take in less than one percent plus or minus from whatever we did last year. We have to adjust our tax rate so it does that. Some people’s rate could be slightly higher or slightly lower. It’s going to be kind of an averaged out thing.”
In other matters, the council:
*Discussed potentially formalizing a policy on the enforcement of the meals tax as it relates to food trucks and mobile vendors.
Council Member Erica Cipko introduced the topic, noting that some of the vendors don’t have the tax enforced on their operations at festivals, while brick and mortar stores are forced to pay the tax throughout the year.
Weiland said there are multiple options on how to approach collecting lost revenues, including floating a potential minimum fee for such vendors.
The council agreed to do more research into how the taxes are enforced in surrounding localities before proceeding further.
*Discussed drafting letters to owners of blighted properties throughout the town in accordance with House Bill 1778. Violations of the law are subject to existing civil penalty applicable to violations of provisions relating to the removal of trash, garbage, refuse, litter, and similar substances. The law is set to go into effect July 1.
*Heard an update from Town Manager Terry Tilley about renovations at the sewer plant. Additionally, he said a galvanized water line on Riverside Drive will be replaced within the week.
