Morrisville's 2009 Budget

The news is good - our adopted Morrisville budget is based on a tax rate of .3665 per $100 of valuation. That rate is just slightly below revenue neutral, a long way from the 19% tax hike that appeared imminent 10 days ago.

We now have a tax rate that is competitive with Cary's and a budget that will maintain the level of town service we've come to expect.

Thanks go to members of Morrisville Action and all Morrisville residents who took the time to write, phone and speak out. Thanks are also in order to our elected officials. They can be reached by email at MayorandCommissioners@ci.morrisville.nc.us

Morrisville's Budget - Close But No Cigar

Our elected officials appear close to approving a budget, the revision under consideration a far cry from the version that required a 19% tax hike.

After a late night on 6/25, commissioners continued the meeting until:

Thursday June 26th 7:00 PM
Morrisville Town Hall
100 Town Hall Dr
Budget Discussion and Final Vote

Overflow parking, if needed, is available at the Morrisville Chamber of Commerce 260 Town Hall Dr. Vehicles parked directly on Town Hall Dr are subject to ticketing.

It's Unanimous - NO to proposed budget

By a 7-0 vote, our Morrisville elected officials sent a strong message to town staff - a 19% tax increase is too much. To our residents go much credit. They wrote. They phoned. They spoke to each other, to the media and to our elected officials. And Commissioners listened. Our board was well prepared last night, offering specific suggestions and general guidelines for staff. Their work is appreciated.

Now it's pencil sharpening time:

Budget Workshop (and likely final budget vote)
Wednesday June 25th 6:00 PM
Morrisville Town Hall
100 Town Hall Dr

Overflow parking, if needed, is available at the Morrisville Chamber of Commerce 260 Town Hall Dr. Vehicles parked directly on Town Hall Dr are subject to ticketing.

In addition to work on the budget and tax rate, leaders will have to revisit our Long Range Financial Plan. Passed by a 4-3 vote on April 22, (For: Faulkner, Johnson, Snyder, Stohlman; Against: Lyons, Martin, Murry) the plan is based on a tax rate of .4396.

Attend tonight's meeting if possible. And stay tuned. There's more to come.

All those in favor....

Our Morrisville budget and tax increase vote is scheduled for later today:

Tuesday June 24th 6:30 pm
Morrisville Town Hall
100 Town Hall Dr

(Overflow parking, if needed, is available at the Morrisville Chamber of Commerce 260 Town Hall Dr. Vehicles parked directly on Town Hall Dr are subject to ticketing.)

Residents turned out en masse on 6/18, offering heartfelt comments, emotional appeals and reasonable suggestions. (Follow links at Morrisville Action for media coverage.) Surprising to your 'Tis blogger - as of 6/23, the budget is as originally proposed on 5/13. But a decrease in the tax rate is still possible. Here are the options for this evening's Board of Commissioner Business Session:

- Our elected board can vote to approve the budget and 19% tax increase

- Our elected board can ask for on-the-fly changes and approve an amended proposal

- Our elected board can table the item and continue the meeting to another date prior to 6/30

- Our elected board can vote to deny the budget

If our commissioners go with either of the last two options, an additional TBD public meeting will be required.

It's not too late to weigh in:

Email the board at MayorandCommissioners@ci.morrisville.nc.us

Call your Morrisville representatives:

Jan Faulkner (Mayor) at 481-0122

Liz Johnson (Mayor Pro Tem) at 462-8859

Mark Stohlman (Commissioner, District 2) at 949-1403

Linda Lyons (Commissioner, District 1) at 469-1992

Mike Snyder (Commissioner, District 4) at 447-0456

Pete Martin (Commissioner, At Large) at 462-8182

Tom Murry (Commissioner, At Large) at 468-1213

And stay tuned......

Morrisville Tax Increase - Public Input Opportunity

From Town Hall:

Town of Morrisville Budget Presentation Wednesday, June 18th

The Morrisville Board of Commissioners wants to give Morrisville residents one more chance to learn and comment about the proposed operating budget for Fiscal Year 2009. A special presentation will be held on Wednesday, June 18th from 7pm - 8:30 pm at Town Hall. Come prepared to hear a short presentation, but most importantly, to give your feedback!

See town website for additional info.

They paved paradise and put in a......

parking lot to end all parking lots. To be sure, the $600,000 structure has not yet been approved. First briefing was 6/10 with a vote scheduled for 6/24.

It will be a lovely parking lot with 174 spaces, brick walls, landscaping, maybe a few $3200 custom recycling containers and an $800 trash can or two. Where is this parking lot you ask? Downtown. It's the Town of Morrisville Downtown Parking Lot, adjacent to the Chamber of Commerce. No, Morrisville does not currently have a downtown. If all goes as planned, we'll begin construction on a cultural arts center in 8 years, after the next revaluation and tax hike. So at some point, we may indeed need a downtown parking lot. But now? During consideration of the largest tax increase in the Triangle? Timing could be better on this one.

The near term parking lot purpose, from the Planning and Zoning Board discussion:

Mr. Goel asked if the parking lot was only to support the Town offices and the Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Wadkins said Mr. Goel was correct.

At this time, parking doesn't seem to be a problem for town staff. So your 'Tis blogger has a suggestion, worth about what you are paying for it: the town should commit the $600,000 toward either fire station #1 or road improvements. Those are real needs. An upscale parking lot? Not so much.

Back by Popular Demand - Money

No wisdom here about the love of same being the root of all evil. Sorry. But if the calendar says the Durham Bulls are at the DBAP and Greg Fishel is atwitter over the heat index..... it must be budget season. And time to talk dollars and sense.

(click graphic for larger view)


First the dollars:

Morrisville leads the triangle in proposing a tax rate a whopping 19% above revenue neutral. Since the budget was unveiled last month, that number has not changed. There have been no adjustments made, no attempt to address taxpayer concerns of overspending. Of note:

The only road project in the 2009 budget: improvements to a small section of Morrisville-Carpenter Rd to the tune of $600k, with 7 year financing.

Proposed expenditures for General Government are $558k above the current year.

Proposed expenditures for Public Works are $1.4MM over current FY, but that includes a fire truck.

Proposed expenditures for Public Safety, with no new personnel, add $1.19MM to this year's spending.

Proposed expenditures for Engineering, up $170k.

Fire station #1 isn't what it once was and the money from the $5.7MM public safety bond has already been spent. (See Whadda ya mean you spent your lunch money) The additional money needed for the fire station, $3MM, 15 year finance

Now the sense:



Yes, that's a blank line. It's symbolic.

Sense would require taking a serious look at departmental spending and limiting increases to reasonable amounts. Not zero increases. Oh gosh no. I'm not at all in favor of reducing head count or services. I'm suggesting passing a budget that includes reasonable increases in spending.

Specifically:

As currently proposed, expenditures for General Government increase by 18%. Suggestion - limit the increase to 8%.

As currently proposed, expenditures for Public Works increase by 34%. Suggestion - limit the increase to 15%.

As currently proposed, expenditures for Public Safety increase by 17%. Suggestion - limit the increase to 8%.

As currently proposed, expenditures for Engineering increase by 33%. Suggestion - limit the increase to 15%.

Those reasonable spending increases bring us close to a revenue neutral rate. Most of our taxpayers will still pay a bit more this year than last. But at .37 per hundred dollars of valuation, our tax rate will be both competitive and fair.

Determine spending based on a tax rate instead of the other way around. Now there's a thought. And if that happens, we will have some of our money back. By popular demand.

'Tisn't About Morrisville, but 'tis a good thing

With sincere and heartfelt thanks to Marla Dorrel for her years long and continuing effort. The Kids Together Playground at Marla Dorrel Park. It's perfect.

(Reprinted with the author's permission)

Kids Together park renamed for Dorrel
Adam Arnold, Staff Writer
Marla Dorrel had no idea what was coming Thursday night.
The former Cary Town Council member knew that a resolution in her honor was on the council’s agenda but had no clue what the honor was.

Just moments into the meeting, she learned that Marla Dorrel Park is the new name of the facility christened as Kids Together Park in 2000.

“What a wonderful surprise and it was a huge surprise,” Dorrel said in an interview Friday. “I had no idea that this was coming.”

Dorrel, who served on the Town Council from 1999 to 2007, raised funds for the park’s construction. She also serves as president of Kids Together Inc., a nonprofit organization that backs the park. The park is located at 111 Thurston Drive in south Cary.

The concept for the park emerged in 1994 and was originally spearheaded by then 8-year-olds Helen Rittelmeyer and Kristin Holcombe. The pair, who have siblings with special needs, learned of the town’s interest in creating a playground similar to a handicapped-accessible play area in Raleigh. They began fundraising for the project with bake sales, craft bazaars and Beanie Baby raffles.

The play equipment was specially designed to be accessible to all children. Play structures and other structures are built to allow wheelchair access and to help the visually impaired use the facilities.

Dorrel said that as longtime Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources volunteer Tom Hemrick read the proclamation, she wondered how the “Kids Together” part of the name would be handled. It is now known as “Kids Together Playground at Marla Dorrel Park.”

Regarding the inclusion of the original name, she said she appreciated “how tidily it had been taken care of.”

Bruce Brown, who in the early 1990s was a member of what is now the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Advisory Board, recruited Dorrel for the fundraising in 1994.

Former Town Council member Richard Burton had recommended her, Brown said.

Brown and Dorrel first discussed the project on a Saturday at an area Chik-fil-a.

At the time Dorrel had no fundraising experience.

“Fortunately for the playground she decided to get involved,” Brown said.

Brown, an original director for Kids Together, still serves on the board. The aim was to build a playground that integrated facilities for both able-bodied and disabled children, Brown said.

“We got out to do something that really hadn’t been done in Cary or the surrounding area,” Brown said.

Hemrick, also a director of the nonprofit organization, said the honor was fitting.

“Marla Dorrel is an unselfish person who gives back to the community many times over,” Hemrick said. “I love the fact that this thing was a total surprise.”

Hemrick said that the project was “a dream” for the two girls and that Dorrel’s involvement really helped move it forward.

Though Dorrel was an executive with Time Warner Cable at the time she got involved with Kids Together, her academic and professional background was in special education. Bringing those elements back into her life was part of the park’s appeal.

“Something that was really missing from my life was working with kids,” Dorrel said.

“I was able to draw on my education and teaching experience. It had to do with kids, it had to do with special needs. It was a great way to meet people.”

Dorrel said she ended up raising about $300,000 for the park, which cost a total of about $1 million.

There was also a significant contribution of sweat equity by volunteers and Kids Together leaders.

“They put out the mulch and raised the money at the same time,” Hemrick said.

Dorrel said the volunteers looked at other successful private-public partnerships, especially the work that had been done to restore the Page-Walker Arts & History Center.

She said she also got a lot of encouragement to stick with it.

“The momentum was strong and the public support was strong,” Dorrel said. “It was easy for the town to say ‘yes.’ … We worked so hard for it to be everyone’s park and everyone’s playground.”

After nearly a decade and a half of involvement with the park, it is still clear how tightly bound she feels to it. “Other than my house,” Dorrel said, “there’s not another piece of land in Cary where I feel more at home.”

Contact Adam Arnold at 460-2609 or aarnold@nando.com.
© Copyright 2008, The News & Observer Publishing Company

Toilet Talk and Commode Cash

NEW PROGRAM ENCOURAGES CARY CITIZENS TO STOP FLUSHING WATER AND MONEY DOWN THE COMMODE
400 rebates of $150 now available for replacing older toilets with high-efficiency models

CARY, NC - As part of its ongoing efforts to lead the state in conserving finite natural resources, the Town of Cary has begun offering $150 rebates to water customers who replace their older toilets that use between 3.5 and 5 gallons of water per flush (gpf) with new, high efficiency toilets (HET) that use 75 to 80 percent less water or 1.28 gpf ( Click here for details ). An initiative approved by the Cary Town Council on March 13, 2008, as part of four new innovative water conservation measures, the HET Retrofit Rebate Program is aimed at reducing indoor water usage. In its initial phase, the program provides 400 rebates to Cary water customers for replacing their older toilets with WaterSense labeled high-efficiency toilets in their homes or businesses -- a limit of three rebates per single-family property and five per non-residential property, all issued on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Town of Cary water customers -- including those in Morrisville -- are eligible to participate in the program. To apply for a rebate, residential and non-residential customers must mail in a completed application with original receipt(s) dated on or after June 3, 2008. Following a site visit to verify the new toilets installation, the Town will issue a rebate check to qualified applicants within about four weeks.

"As a community that has long been on the forefront of water conservation, we are pleased to begin implementing this new program as one more way our citizens can continue our successful culture of conservation," said Water Conservation Coordinator Marie Cefalo. "In Cary, we've found that our greatest source of indoor water usage comes from toilets, so If 400 toilets per year are replaced, the Town could save an estimated 2.6 to 4 million gallons of water per year."

The prices of high efficiency toilets are comparable in price to regular toilets, with prices beginning at $119.

The Town's Water Conservation Program has two focus areas: (1) reducing per capita water consumption, and (2) managing the peak demands that occur during the hottest, driest times of the year. These program goals are accomplished through education, regulation, and financial incentives such as a tiered rate structure, rain barrel sales, and toilet flapper rebates.

For a listing of toilets that are WaterSense certified as High Efficiency, visit the WaterSense site. For more about the Town's water conservation initiatives, click on Water Conservation or call (919) 469-4090.


CONTACTS: Marie Cefalo, Water Conservation Coordinator, (919) 469-4387
April Raphiou, Deputy Public Information Officer, (919) 481-5091
Susan Moran, Public Information Officer, (919) 460-4951