SALISBURY — Most Salisbury residents appear to be satisfied with the city’s proposed 2013-2014 budget, which includes no tax hike or fee increases.
Only one person — Deedee Wright — spoke at the budget public hearing during Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Wright said a proposed 2.25 percent raise for city employees is long overdue but asked City Council for additional funding for the Salisbury Police Department.
“I don’t think that we can continue to train police officers and then have them leave our city,” she said.
Wright said she has information that shows at least 70 officers have left the city in the past five years. She blamed low pay and said she wouldn’t risk her life for a starting salary of about $28,000 either.
Police Chief Rory Collins said he didn’t immediately know if Wright’s statistic was accurate and would have to research the issue.
Collins said his proposed budget — $6,918,847 — is slightly less than his current budget of $7,157,454. As proposed, Collins said he would have 81 sworn positions and seven full-time and five part-time civilian positions, for a total of 93.
City Manager Doug Paris told the Post his proposed budget for the Police Department includes 89 employees, down from 100 in the current year. Rowan County took over 11 police dispatcher positions with consolidation of the city’s 911 dispatch service.
When Paris presented the proposed budget to City Council last week, he said Collins’ creation of a second police intervention team was an example of operating collaboratively and efficiently. Collins moved money from administration to operations to fund the second PIT team, as well as part-time police expeditors to complete paperwork for officers.
Paris, who often talks about “turning our financial ship in the right direction,” told the Post that when he became interim city manager in 2011, the general fund and Fibrant were running deficits and the city’s water-sewer utility had an average rate increase of 7 percent a year.
“Through the strong expectations of City Council and staff working as a team, we’ve turned that around,” Paris said.
He said the city added $2 million to the fund balance last year, will have no water-sewer rate increase for two years in a row and will not loan money to Fibrant, the city’s broadband utility, for the first time.
Councilwoman Karen Alexander said the proposed budget was a result of collaboration and innovation. Councilman Pete Kennedy called it “tremendous.”
“The city of Salisbury is run like a business now,” Woodson said after Paris presented the budget.
Paris eliminated the director and program manager’s positions in the Parks and Recreation Department. Gail Elder White and Jeff Holshouser said they are considering suing the city for wrongful termination.
Two of the city’s longest-serving department heads — City Engineer Dan Mikkelson and Planning Director Joe Morris — retired. Paris has instituted several management consolidations, eliminating six total positions.
City Council will meet at 10 a.m. June 11 at One Water Street for a budget workshop.

Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.