CARY TOWN COUNCIL ADOPTS $290 MILLION BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009

Citizens to enjoy 19^th straight year of no property tax increase

CARY, NC – It will take about $290 million in Fiscal Year 2009 and a tax rate of 33 cents to keep Cary one of the greatest places in America to live, work, and raise a family according to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 budget adopted by the Town Council at its regular meeting last night.  The new budget includes: $111 million for general fund operations (up 4.5% from FY 08); $46.5 million for utility operations (up 5.4% from FY 08); and $127,053,714 for capital project spending (down 44 percent from FY 08).  FY 2009 runs from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009 .

“The Fiscal Year 2009 budget takes a very conservative approach to new spending while still allowing us to continue meeting existing needs and enabling us going forward to do many of the things our citizens have said they want,” said Town Manager Bill Coleman.

Some of the major projects funded in this year’s budget include the  Downtown Cary Streetscape project, renovation of Old Cary Elementary School into a community arts space, repaving most of Cary’s portions of Cary Parkway, the first phases of Mills and Bartley parks, and renovations to the Black Creek Greenway.

And to keep service levels high, the budget also allows for limited increases in staffing. Most of the 25.25 additional employees (full time equivalents or FTEs) will be assigned to police, technology services, finance, public works and utilities, and parks.  This increase in Town staff brings the total to 1,153.75, or about 8.9 staff members for each 1,000 Cary residents; this is one of the lowest staff-to-citizen ratios in the state for a large municipality and lower than the staff-to-citizen ratio of about 9.3 staff members for each 1,000 citizens that was approved in the current year’s budget.

The new budget drops Cary ’s property tax rate by nine cents from 42 cents to a “revenue neutral” 33 cents per $100 of value following Wake County ’s property revaluation last fall.  With one cent on the Cary tax rate equaling $30 in annual taxes, the owner of a $300,000 Cary home will contribute $990 in municipal property taxes in the coming year.

“Thanks to continued healthy tax base growth, prudent financial management, and efficient operations, we’ve been able to once again hold the line on taxes despite Cary voters’ having approved more than $232 million in streets and parks bonds over the last 10 years, bonds that had a projected tax rate impact of 12 cents,” said Coleman.

That said, citizens will see their monthly solid waste fees increase $2.25, from $11.75 to $14, to cover increasing operating costs and new recycling benefits.  And Cary water and sewer customers will see a 5.5% rate increase—about $3.64 more a month for a residential Cary customer using 7,000 gallons of water; the increase is needed to cover costs for the Western Wake Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The Town of Cary ’s annual budget is a work and financial plan designed to implement the Town Council’s vision for the community as articulated in the organization’s mission statement and goals and initiatives:

Town of Cary Mission Statement:

At the Town of Cary we focus every day on enriching the lives of our citizens by creating an exceptional environment and providing exemplary services that enable our community to thrive and prosper.

Council Goals and Initiatives:

§         Achieve a well-planned community using innovative and proactive planning approaches and techniques

§         Ensure that roads, water and wastewater facilities, parks, and other infrastructure exist for the existing citizens and for the future needs identified in the comprehensive plan

§         Achieve a stable and strong financial position by accurately estimating, prudently allocating and managing financial resources

§         Achieve a high level of service to the citizens in a prompt, reliable, responsive, and cost-effective manner

Before adopting the budget last night, the Cary Town Council held five public hearings to receive citizen input and conducted six work sessions where they discussed in detail elements of the capital and operating budgets proposed by Coleman on May 8 in his recommended budget.  Changes to Coleman’s recommended budget were listed separately and voted on in conjunction with the entire budget last night.  North Carolina law requires local governments to adopt a balanced budget by June 30 since the new fiscal year starts July 1.

While the recommended budget is available on-line, the adopted budget, including all changes, will be available by the end of August at www.townofcary.org.  Printed copies of the final budget will also be available for review at the Town Clerk’s Office in Town Hall and at the Cary public library in downtown Cary and at the West Regional Library, 4000 Louis Stephens Drive .

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