# Town Council Budget Workshop - Apr 15 2025

**Body:** Town of Weaverville — Town Council
**Date:** April 15, 2025 6:00 PM EDT (2025-04-15T18:00:00-04:00)

**Link:** https://sunshinemeetings.org/event/1846

## Summary

**Meeting Overview**
The Town of Weaverville Town Council held a regular budget workshop on April 15, 2025, at 6:00 pm in the Town Hall/Community Room. The primary focus of the session was a review and discussion of the proposed Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget, presented by Town Manager Scottie Harris. The meeting addressed various financial components, including tax rates, fund balances, staffing adjustments, and capital projects.

**Key Decisions and Votes**
The Council took one formal action during the workshop: voting to set a public hearing for the proposed FY 2025-2026 budget. The motion passed with a 6-0 vote, with Council members Doug Jackson, Dee Lawrence, Patrick Fitzsimmons, John Chase, Catherine Cordell, and Michele Wood voting Aye. The public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at 6:00 pm in the Community Room/Council Chambers at Town Hall. No other motions were passed, and no final budget adoption occurred during this workshop.

**Discussion Highlights**
Town Manager Harris presented the proposed budget, which includes a 5.3% overall increase to $17,600,281. Key financial details discussed included a property tax rate increase of $0.02 (to $0.37), a 5% water rate increase, and no increase in the fire tax rate. The proposal also includes the use of $1.35 million in General Fund Balance and the addition of three full-time positions: one Detective and two Water Treatment Plant (WTP) Operators.

Council members discussed employee compensation, reaching a general consensus to include a 3% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and a 2% merit increase. There was specific discussion regarding an equalized approach to COLA adjustments, with the suggestion that lower-salaried employees might receive a larger increase. The Council also discussed capital projects, including funding for a fire apparatus ($300,000), cellular read water meters ($100,000), and waterline replacement ($100,000). Additionally, the Council discussed authorizing the pre-ordering of a rescue truck with no payment due at the time of order and allowing the posting of WTP Operator positions before the final budget adoption. Further topics included the inclusion of one day of early voting on the Saturday before the election and a discussion on changing Town elections to an even-year cycle.

**Community Input**
The provided transcript summary indicates that there were no public comments or community input recorded during this meeting. The discussion consisted entirely of statements from council members and staff.

**Follow-ups and Next Steps**
The Council has scheduled a public hearing for May 13, 2025, to continue the discussion on the proposed budget. No other specific follow-up actions or commitments from staff or members were explicitly agreed upon during this meeting beyond setting the hearing date. The meeting adjourned at 7:08 pm.

## Video & Transcript

- Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--YXhClERj0
- Transcript: https://sunshinemeetings.org/transcript/1571/segments

## Documents

- [agenda_2025-04-15.pdf](https://sunshinemeetings.org/event/1846?document=14439)
- [minutes_2025-04-15.pdf](https://sunshinemeetings.org/event/1846?document=14440)

## Sources

- [YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--YXhClERj0)