FY14 Budget - Investing in Morrisville's Present & Future

Morrisville's hard-working staff has rolled out their recommendation for the FY14 budget.  Based on the Council's direction to focus on:

1. Transit and Transportation
2. Creating a Sense of Place
3. Maintaining a Small Town Environment and
4. Maintaining a Quality Staff

this financial plan is a good one.   Compared with the FY13 budget, it's a hefty 8% increase.  Better, though, much better, than the budget change between FY12 and FY13.  Last year at this time we were talking about an increase of 11% and I voted no on our current year's budget.  This time around, I'm much more optimistic for good reason:  we'll have something to show for our investments.

Highlights include funding to begin the NC54 bypass supported by voters in 2012, forward progress on the long-awaited Town Center, construction of the RTP Park* at Church St and McCrimmon Pkwy, road maintenance, road maintenance, road maintenance and a property tax increase to .39 per $100 of property valuation. 

What's missing:  local funds to leverage monies available for transportation improvements through LAPP, or Locally Administered Projects Program.   Budgeting $120k in the coming year would allow us to submit a project of up to $600k for consideration in the coming year.  Cost sharing is the only approach that will allow Morrisville to fix the needed transportation improvements that ail us and I'll continue to advocate making this happen.   I would also like to see us accelerate the 2012 Parks/Rec bond funded projects, currently slated for FY16.  We shall see....

Agree?  Disagree?  Either way, let us know.  Options are:

1. Attend the public hearing on May 28th
2. Visit our online budget portal and submit comments here or
3. Contact our Budget Manager at 919.463.6174 to schedule time for individual discussion

Gotta love #3.  It's good to be Morrisville.



*While it is true a rose by any other name and all that, I know we can do better than "RTP Park" for this lasting community legacy.  Have ideas?  Submit via comment below.