Taxes in Cleveland Will NOT Increase for 2021 - Town Board Special Meeting 5-25-2021

 

 

Commissioner Gerald Osborne said he was not in favor of a tax increase for Cleveland, "not in any way, shape, or form." He said that the past year had been rough on residents and that many were living on tight or fixed incomes. 

The town has accumulated $743,680 between 2009 and 2020, and Osborne said that he thought the town should tap into that rainy day fund. With the spending approved by the town board, the shortfall on the budget would be about $156,000. 

All board members ultimately agreed to keep taxes at the current rate of 28 cents. 

Some expenditures for the year were not on the table for discussion. Residents need water/sewer, and those are self funding. In other words, the charges cover the costs. With some big ticket costs coming up, the rate for water and for sewer will go up each by 5 percent this year. 

Town Clerk Cathy Payne said that looking at a typical family and considering usage of 4000 gallons for a month for each service that the cost of water would go up $1.35 and the cost of sewer would go up $1.64 for a total increase to the bill of $2.99 per month. 

The big ticket costs will be spread out over a number of years with one of the most pressing items coming up being a new water tower. The water tower on N. Depot Street was constructed in 1896 according to some records reviewed by Osborne. Osborne is a retired engineer, and he covers water/sewer on the board. The tower was placed in Cleveland in the early 1940s, so board members believe it was purchased second hand, because the country was at war. In any case, the water tower has certainly served the town for many years, and a new one is needed.

Work will be done on the old water tower to meet standards, but no extra or frill work (like ladders) will be done, since the new tower is imminent. The first thing needed (and approved already on last year's budget) is engineering work which will determine the needs of the town and the appropriate location for a water tower.

Another price that will likely go up will be cemetery plot costs for non-residents. Non-resident rates also increased in 2018, but the cost to residents have not been raised since 2003. This will be considered and addressed in the June 2021 scheduled monthly town board meeting. 

The two areas that went up for discussion were police and parks/recreation.

Ultimately, all requests for the police department outlined by Police Chief Jon Jessop were approved. That included a new employee (to start July), building renovations (including an updated bathroom and kitchen area), two police cars, technology items and security cameras.

Osborne voiced concerns about the funding for the police department. "It's out of sight as far as I'm concerned. That puts a heavy load on the citizens," said Osborne. He suggested that the projects and costs be spread out over a few years.

Mayor Pat Phifer said that he lived in sight of the police department previously and that cameras were needed. He noted that when residents had domestic disputes that they would show up at the police station, and "Them jokers are ready to fight in the parking lot." 

Commissioner Travis Summitt seconded the need for cameras and noted that most interactions were now on camera nationwide so that everyone is covered. 

Board members discussed buying two new police vehicles and asked Jessop a few questions. All board members came around on the cars, and the old police cars will be sold with some money going back into the town coffers.

Money for the town park came under fire. 

"The $300,000 is out as far as I'm concerned," said Summitt.

"I got sticker shock too," said Commissioner Richard Taylor.

Summitt said that he thought that the town needed to look at grants. 

Taylor said that he had been looking at grants and that "there are a lot of them out there." 

Taylor did say that something had to be done about the park playground which is twenty years old and has safety issues. He said it would make sense to get the "footprint" (entire area for playground) at one time, since it might be hard to add playground turf (artificial ground cover) after equipment started being put in. 

Town board members voted to allocate $50,000 for parks/recreation which was $250,000 less than proposed. 

The budget will go up for a public hearing along with social media guidelines. The hearing will be at the next town board meeting which is June 14, 2021 at 6 p.m.The public, as always, can attend.