CHINA GROVE — The China Grove Town Council approved the budget for the upcoming fiscal year on a 3-2 split. The budget includes no tax increase.

Councilors Don Bringle, Lee Withers and Cheryl Sheets voted to pass the budget in its presented form. Meanwhile, Mayor Pro Tem Wayne Starnes and Councilor Arthur Heggins cast dissenting votes.

The primary division between the dissenting and approving votes was the prioritization of personnel spending. Ultimately, the budget clears the path for three new firefighters and two new patrol officers in addition to a new administrative position at town hall to support downtown business development. Those arguing against the budget, felt allocating funding for staff to address shortfalls at town hall would be a better use of the money. However, the budget’s approving nods, Bringle, Withers and Sheets, argued the new public safety positions in the budget should be the priority.

“Im a huge advocate for fire and police,” Starnes said. “I don’t know that we were in an urgent situation to hire three firemen and two police officers yet. I think in the next 3 to 5 years, we are definitely going to need those officers and those fire fighters and it is part of the personnel plan, but we had a one time opportunity this year to take revenue that we would not normally get and use it to address these serious issues but we chose not to.”

That revenue comes from the injection of funding as the new Macy’s Fulfillment Center comes on board.

“It was an opportunity to take care of some things that were very urgent as expressed by the town manager,” Starnes said. “Instead of addressing some of those things like paying off the police fleet purchase rather than lease, we did not support the planning and development and their full time code enforcement person which was also going to help in other areas. We did not support the town manager when he desperately needed help, we just came up with what we wanted to do.”

For his part, Heggins felt like the downtown business development position was not the best way to spend budget funding this year.

“We had sessions and conversations,” Heggins said. “We went to our town manager and he shared with us those things that were needed. Some were (to address) the heavy load the staff was undergoing. We had personnel conversations. I know there is a great need for the town. At the same time, especially our town manager is overwhelmed with a lot going on. Same thing going on with staff, especially in the finance department.

“When we begin our conversation about employment and getting individuals to come in I believe one of the first things stated was someone to work in administration to assist the manager and the finance coordinator. It seems like we abandoned that and took on what was necessary for downtown.”

On the flip side of the coin, Sheets lamented that a difficult decision had to be made.

“I would like to have my candy and eat it too,” she said, but ultimately acknowledged that it is her job to represent the taxpayers and that she believes public safety was the most important call.

“We have to remember this council is elected by taxpayers,” Sheets said. “I appreciate the staff. We have to have staff to run the town. But we have to answer to all (our citizens) …

“There are things we can do to help alleviate the staff’s load, but when it comes to public safety, the main things I get comments on are about our police and fire. I think we need to take care of those and put those first and foremost. I’m sorry if the staff feels like they are not being taken care of but at some point we have to make that tough decision.”

Bringle pointed out how the police department, and Chief Andrew Deal, had been forced to kick the can down the road in years past when adding personnel could have happened already.

“The police department has requested help for several years,” Bringle said. “Chief Deal has stood up and said I can wait another year, I can wait another year and he has said that for several years. There are houses being built during those several years and industry coming into our community.”

It is not just police as Bringle pointed out.

“When you look at daily reports, (first responders) are on the road continuously,” he said. “We have some big items to look at in the next several years.

“To be able to keep and retain that staff is very difficult. I understand where we are at with the needs of the administration and I appreciate where they are at and what they have done.”

Looking back at how the process began, Withers said they wanted to fully understand what all the departments’ wishes were.

“We do that every year,” Withers said. “… We all want and wish a lot. To Cheryl’s point, while we want to take care of y’all and want to have everything perfect, we answer to a lot of different people. We signed up for that. We take a lot of shots everywhere we go, whether it be church, PTA meeting or the grocery store.”

Withers said that it’s a balancing act, between taking recommendations from departments and giving the people what they want.

“It is a huge, huge burden to figure that out,” Withers said. “It is not always peaches and ice cream and signing off on raising taxes by 10 cents.”

Withers remarked that it is important to remember where the windfall came from.

“It came because we grabbed a huge portion of new tax revenue from Macy’s,” he said. “We would be ignorant as council members if we did not support where that money came from.”

When shifts are changing, schools are letting out, there will be a need on Hwy. 152.

“There is a huge burden that is going to be put on those guys in the back of the room,” Wither said. “When we start letting 1,000 people out at a shift change at Macy’s, I promise you Chief Deal and his team are not going to be happy about it. We can’t drive through a roundabout now, much less another one with a thousand people or school letting out at the same time. They will be busy. It is data. If we don’t put the money to pay where it came from, we would be ignorant and it would not make business sense.”

The general fund is presented balanced at $8,223,390. The approved tax rate is $0.56 per $100 valuation. That rate is budgeted to generate $5,188,200 in ad valorem tax revenue based on Rowan County’s estimate of $945,369,343 assessed taxable property inside the town limits of China Grove.

Motor vehicle valuation is estimated at $40,053,825 which should result in $220,000 in motor vehicle tax collection. The new budget includes capital expenditure to replace fire department equipment and a continuance of the police department’s replacement program. It also includes $160,000 for paving projects to match Powell Bill contributions from the state.