(March 2, 2017) Though the official town budget is set to be voted on later this spring, Snow Hill has begun the process by preparing its request to be heard by the county commissioners next Tuesday by collecting wish lists from selected department heads.
Though the numbers are likely to change between now and final ratification, the proposals shed light on what each highlighted department is preparing to accomplish in the coming fiscal year.
The city council scheduled work sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday evening this week to hear the proposals. As not all of the proposals have been submitted at press time, the grand total of Snow Hill’s fiscal 2018 requests won’t be available until next week.
The administration, which includes town hall staff, the mayor and City Council as well as the planning and zoning department is requesting about $315,000, $11,900 and a touch over $13,000 next year, respectively.
The police department’s largest new request is for $34,000 for the Project 25 radio interoperability protocol, which requires the purchase of several new radios and a console to manage them. Chief Tom Davis also requested $8,500 for new firearms: three rifles and six shotguns. The department currently has three shotguns, characterized by Davis as “antique” and not actively carried by officers.
The public works department is composed of the streets, parks, and train station departments and is requesting almost $648,000, nearly $89,000 and about $6,000, respectively. Employee costs, street maintenance and utility costs are the major expenditures for the streets and parks departments, while the train station contains simple facility costs, like utilities and maintenance.
The water and sewer department is seeking about $1.09 million. The water department’s request is lower than last year, because of a reduction in costs of some testing equipment. Employee expenses, maintenance and supplies make up the bulk of the sewer department’s almost $721,000 request.
The fire company is seeking an increase of its grant from $105,000 last year to $125,000 this year to help defray year-end costs, which totaled almost $81,000 last year, according to its request. It is also seeking a pay differential for personnel that have more advanced certifications than the rank and file, as well as general salary bumps and cost of living increases. The company reimburses the town for salaries, and according to the request the board of directors have already approved the increased expenditures for salaries.
The final request is from the Julia Purnell Museum, which requested the same amount of support it did last year, according to director Dr. Cindy Byrd. The funds requested by the museum totals almost $81,000, of which salaries and employee expenses make up the lion’s share.
Though the numbers are likely to change between now and final ratification, the proposals shed light on what each highlighted department is preparing to accomplish in the coming fiscal year.
The city council scheduled work sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday evening this week to hear the proposals. As not all of the proposals have been submitted at press time, the grand total of Snow Hill’s fiscal 2018 requests won’t be available until next week.
The administration, which includes town hall staff, the mayor and City Council as well as the planning and zoning department is requesting about $315,000, $11,900 and a touch over $13,000 next year, respectively.
The police department’s largest new request is for $34,000 for the Project 25 radio interoperability protocol, which requires the purchase of several new radios and a console to manage them. Chief Tom Davis also requested $8,500 for new firearms: three rifles and six shotguns. The department currently has three shotguns, characterized by Davis as “antique” and not actively carried by officers.
The public works department is composed of the streets, parks, and train station departments and is requesting almost $648,000, nearly $89,000 and about $6,000, respectively. Employee costs, street maintenance and utility costs are the major expenditures for the streets and parks departments, while the train station contains simple facility costs, like utilities and maintenance.
The water and sewer department is seeking about $1.09 million. The water department’s request is lower than last year, because of a reduction in costs of some testing equipment. Employee expenses, maintenance and supplies make up the bulk of the sewer department’s almost $721,000 request.
The fire company is seeking an increase of its grant from $105,000 last year to $125,000 this year to help defray year-end costs, which totaled almost $81,000 last year, according to its request. It is also seeking a pay differential for personnel that have more advanced certifications than the rank and file, as well as general salary bumps and cost of living increases. The company reimburses the town for salaries, and according to the request the board of directors have already approved the increased expenditures for salaries.
The final request is from the Julia Purnell Museum, which requested the same amount of support it did last year, according to director Dr. Cindy Byrd. The funds requested by the museum totals almost $81,000, of which salaries and employee expenses make up the lion’s share.