By Scott Jenkins
Salisbury Post
EAST SPENCER Town residents would see the first property tax increase in more than a decade under the 2007-2008 budget proposal aldermen will begin discussing tonight.
The Board of Aldermen will meet at 6 p.m. at the town municipal building, 105 S. Long St., for the first of two budget work sessions. The second is scheduled for May 29.
Town Administrator Richard Hunter proposes a 3-cent increase in the property tax rate, to 66 cents per $100 of assessed value. For the owner of a home worth $50,000, that would mean a $330 tax bill, a $15 increase.
Hunter said in his budget message that the increase is needed to maintain town services at current levels and that no new service or significant expansion of existing service levels is anticipated.
The total proposed budget is $2.25 million, an 8.9 percent increase over the current budget.
Water and sewer rates increase under the spending plan. The water rate would go from $4.98 to $5.10 per month, while the monthly sewer rate would go from $5.98 to $6.22. Hunters message says those increases are a direct pass through from Salisbury-Rowan Utilities.
Hunter anticipates a Powell Bill budget of $88,310, about 7 percent more than this year.
Contact Scott Jenkins at 704-797-4248 or sjenkins@salisburypost.com.