news-record.com

The Gibsonville Board of Aldermen continued the debate about three capital projects already in the works and the tax increases that may be required to fund them.

At the Aug. 3 meeting, Alderwoman Veronica Revels repeated her request to survey citizens before the town begins building a gym.
Alderwoman Sandra Moulton said it takes a lot of time to design a survey correctly, and Alderman Ken Pleasants said not enough people participate in surveys.

Town Manager Ben Baxley said staff could use its Connect-CTY system to survey town residents about the gym. The system uses e-mails and recorded phone messages to communicate with residents.

Revels said she just wants to ask citizens if they would support building a gym if it requires a tax increase. Residents would be able to reply with a “yes” or “no” to the survey question by pressing a key on their phone, and computer software would generate survey results for the staff.

Several board members questioned whether tax increases would be necessary to fund the projects.

“I do not think there’s a board member that will vote to raise our taxes,” Alderman Mark Shepherd said.

“I don’t believe that,” Revels said.

Revels also asked if the town could reduce the cost of vehicle storage and shop building for the public works department, which is estimated at $1.5 million. That would decrease the amount of the tax increase, she said.

Revels said she wasn’t trying to stop the design of the gym, but was just reacting to Baxley’s report that property taxes would need to go up 4 or 5 cents per $100 tax value — $60 to $75 a year for the owner of a $150,000 house — to fund all three projects.

Mayor Lenny Williams said the board needs to at least sit down with staff and figure out how it will pay for the projects, possibly with “creative funding” that will make extra taxes unnecessary.

Contact Jamie Kennedy Jones at jamie.kennedy@news-record.com or 449-4610.