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Disputed KDH budget adds 2 cents to tax rate
The Kill Devil Hills Board of Commissioners eked out a majority this week on a new budget that adds 2 cents to the property tax rate.
After several years of austerity, the $12.4 million spending package re-instates some frozen positions, including a part-time maintenance and grounds worker, a full time planner and a mechanic in the Fleet Maintenance Division.
It will also allow the town administration to fill a ground maintenance position after an impending retirement. But it eliminates a 2 percent cost-of-living raise for town employees.
The vote was 3-2.
Commissioner Bob Woodard was joined by Paul Buske in objecting to the revised budget. Woodard questioned the addition of previously frozen positions and suggested that Kill Devil Hills had high-level staff positions that other towns did not.
“I can’t agree to growing government any longer,” he said.
Woodard said he would be willing to consider a 1 cent per $100 of valuation tax increase. Each cent would add $30 a year to the tax bill on a $300,000 house. The new budget puts the town’s rate at 23.5 cents. Property owners also pay a 28-cent county rate.
But with a state mandate to approve a balanced budget by June 30, there was no time left to reworked the numbers. Mayor Sheila Davies said that previous budget workshops were the time to raise objections.
She challenged the suggestion that the town was overstaffed.
“We’re also the only town that’s got 7,000-plus people,” Davies said. “We’re the largest municipality in the county.”
The additional positions reinstate jobs rather than add them, Commissioner Brandi Rheubottom said, and some of the same high-level positions in other towns do exist, just by different names.
Also by a 3-2 vote, the commission lifted the town’s hiring freeze. The move would not allow Town Manager Debora Diaz to add positions but would give her discretion to fill jobs that become open.
Earlier at Wednesday night’s meeting, commissioners decided to hold a town forum in late October to discuss outdoor displays.
Several proposals, including one that would prohibit outdoor displays, were proposed to address the practice of putting bicycles, kayaks, surfboards and other items outside stores and rental businesses to draw walk-in customers.
About a half dozen business owners spoke on the topic, most of them opposed to making changes.
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Frank Moore says:
“Growing government”, as Woodard put it, is not filling the much needed feet on the ground positions,such as the three empty police positions thanks to Chief Britt and our town “leaders”. I feel certain there are redundent and unnecessary high-level positions in KDH and our sister redundent towns in Dare County. What immediately comes to mind is why does the Town Manager need an Assistant Town Manager. What does this Assistant actually do ? In larger cities and towns one high level position will actually wear more than one hat, which works well and eliminates the need for unnecessary high level positions. Stating that were’re the largest town in the county with 7,000 people is justification for consolidation of all these towns that make up the OBX. The redundency of same positions up and down the coastline and the high level positions that exist is pure folly. The Mayor talks about 7,000 people as being a lot of people. It is a lot of people but not when you are stating that it is the population of your entire town.
Ekim says:
We gona raise your TAXES, but dont put anything in front of your store in order to make $$$$. When you raise my !%* taxes then I have to raise my prices, When I raise prices , The tourons bring their own, I think i’ll sell everthing an get a county JOB THANKS!
REALLY says:
To Ekim – based on your past posts and spelling I doubt you would qualify for a County job.
Watchdog says:
What we have is a 10% increase in our tax rate plus an increase in water (and sewer if you have it) rates to fund more government in the midst of the longest, most devestating recession in American history. A third full time planning staffer? The Town is 90% developed! We have, as Frank pointed out, Assistant Town Manager, Assitant Town Planner (plus another now back in the budget)Zoning Admidistrator, Code Enforcement Officer, two Building Inpectors but all leading indicators are that work loads have been reduced by at least 35-40%! This is not frugal spending, it is a return to unbridled government waste and empire-building. They should have plenty of people around to make sure nobody puts a rubber ducky for sale in front of their tourist trap store. This crowd must have decided to follow the President’s advice and stimulate the economy by spending in the public sector since the private sector is doing so well. Sad situation.
Jackie Harris says:
Sounds to me that the TM took away a COL Raise from the dedicated employees to fund the new Planner. So much was spoken of being an open Govt. and then they slipped in the additional Planner???
Over the grand standing says:
Too bad the budget meetings were not on tape, One commissioner wanted to add a mechanic as they did and agreed to the rest of the budget only to grand stand and change their mind the night of the meeting! Call it politics, I guess they knew already the budget would pass and wanted to give the impression they were not really for it for campaign purposes? Glad the budget meeting notes are available!
Nickrite says:
Anyone remember the promises made by Rheubottom, Davies and Hogan promised when seeking our votes they probably hope not. Perhaps it is time we voted for ordinary working residents, those of us who have to scrimp to get by and not professional public servants and “do gooders” who have no clue how tough it is to afford to live and work on the OBX.
Rick says:
7,000 is alot of people for a town? Since when? Maybe in 1912 but not in 2012. Upon moving to the OBX the first thing I noticed was that all these little burgs needed to be consolidated into one town, from Southern Shores to Nags Head. Even then the new town would not be overly large for one municipal govt. to manage.
In the know says:
Commissioner Rheubottom is not entirely correct when she states that the positions are not new. The planning department has far less work now than it had in previous years. This is simply wasting taxpayers dollars to grow the government. What happened to fiscal responsibilty that the three new members ran on? So much for “Principles Matter”.
Ms. Rheubottom says that other towns have assistant directors, they are just called by other names. I,for one, would like to know what they are called.
KDH has assistant directors in planning, finance, public works, and of course, an assistant town manager. If that is not overstaffed I do not know what is. The police department even has their own IT specialist who makes more than a police lieutenant. This is in addition to the
regular town IT specialist. No other police department on the Outer Banks has their own IT specialist.
The in-house staffing study recently conducted by KDH is no more than the fox watching the chicken house. Has anyone ever heard of an in-house survey where the department head said they could get by with fewer people, even their assistant? In conclusion, I’m very disappointed in the LACK of fiscal responsibilty by the three new members. We need change already.
ekim says:
Hey REALLY I can tell by your snide remark, Your probably a county employee,
James says:
First of all no one said that 7000 people was alot or a little. What was said was that 7000 was the most year round residents that any one town had here on the outer banks. Second as a citizen that happened to be at the last budget workshop I’m very surprised and disappointed at what happend at the last Commissioner’s Meeting. During the last workshop it was agreed by the Mayor and each Commissioner that although a 2 cent raise in taxes was not ideal at this time it was something that needed to be done. One of the reasons was because of the revenue sharing formula that the county has put in place. Also, the Mayor and the Commissioners all agreed to fund positions that were requested except for the Planning position. There did seem to be a divide between the Mayor,Hogan,Rheubottom who thought the position needed to be filled and Woodard who wasn’t in favor of it. Buske seemed to be on the fence when he found out what extra things KDH Planning did compared to other Towns. I truly hope that the change in votes that happened at the meeting were not related to political reasons. It seems that all of us have seen enough of political jockeying at the national and local levels to last a lifetime.
Sandy says:
The fact that the town would rather hire another planning position that IS NOT needed, instead of giving the employees a COL raise is absolutely pathetic and shows a severe lack of leadership starting with the town manager.
Not sure if it can be done but why not take the already budgeted salary of the most recent fired police officer and redistribute the money amongst the employees of the town? Every little bit helps.
I can’t imagine the town would try to fill that police position since they have proven that it too is not needed since they allowed another police officer to take the whole summer off to work for someone else.
eggcelent says:
It is very annoying that the reason for the tax increase in KDH was to make up lost revenue because Nags Head previously raised taxes. So effectively, all KDH property owners are subsidizing Nags Head’s beach nourishment program. The county revenue sharing formula needs to be revised immediately.
David Sanders says:
@James,
The revenue sharing formula is from the enabling legislation passed by the NC General Assembly (Occupancy Tax). Essentially it is part of the General Statutes of the State. The county has to follow the formula as prescribed by that law. Only the legislature could change it and I believe the fear is that the State might rescend the Occupancy Tax in the process. This would be devastating as all the local governmental entities have become dependent on this revenue.
James says:
@David,
Thank you for your information, but there is a little more that you left out. At present Dare county uses Tax Levy as their way of deciding the revenue sharing formula, not all counties in NC use that same formula. The other choices are population and point of origin(where the money is actually spent). If the county wanted to change what formula they used they would have to petition the state to ask for that change. And since other counties use differnt formulas the arguement that the occupancy tax might be taken away because of the county’s request is not a good one. The bigger challenge would be how towns in Dare County that don’t have as much population or businesses would fair and how they might fight against the change.
Monty montcalm says:
I have to agree with Rick.. The whole concept of sharing the County tax money with the cities based on the raltive percentages of taxes collected is not only unbelievable it is crude and arcahaic. Southern Shores down thru Nags Head need to be consolidated into ONE CITY. There has to be a lot os savings to accured by reduction of duplication of positions and responsibilites. Of course it will never happen beacasue everybdy will out to make sure theri own littl rice bowl is full if rice…. at the expense to the good and the will of he people.