EAST SPENCER — The Board of Aldermen approved the proposed budget of $5.61 million on Wednesday night. The nominal increase of $450,000 over last year will result in no tax increase for residents.

The town has made use of the sale of vacant, town-owned property to help cover three-year increases in salaries across town offices, something Mayor Barbara Mallett said was essential in making the town “competitive in drawing the best” when jobs open.

While the $5.61 million will come from town coffers, the full bottom line of the budget will be $9.61 million, reflecting an anticipated expenditure of $4 million in the coming year of a total $23 million in state grant monies for the water and sewer systems.

East Spencer was previously on the Local Government Commission’s watchlist for past financial issues with its water/sewer fund and Town Administrator Michael Douglas has said the $23 million in grant funds from the North Carolina Viable Utilities fund will go a long way toward getting the town back on the proper course. But none of that money will have to come from the town itself.