Lenny Williams was Gibsonville’s mayor for 23 years, but he rarely voted. (Gibsonville’s mayor votes only when needed to break a tie, which proved to be a very infrequent occurrence.)
But Williams exercised enormous influence, both over his board and town management.
While we didn’t use the term at the time, he was, to a large extent, a “brake,” of sorts on the inevitable municipal tendencies toward more spending, more programs, and higher taxes.
Williams, 91, retired from his elected post earlier this year, and man o man, the brake is off of spending and taxing in Gibsonville.
Town manager Ben Baxley has put out his proposed budget this week, which has a whopping 6-cent proposed property tax rate increase, a hike amounting to 12.2 percent in one fell swoop.
We don’t know for sure, but we’re fairly confident this is the largest single-year increase ever proposed in the town over the past several decades.
Will the current board rein in the town manager’s generosity to every town employee and his expansive list of projects?
Frankly, we’re astounded at the audacity of the first budget to be presented after Williams’ retirement.
Unfortunately, however, the town board is equally to blame for the fiasco.
Fully two-thirds of the increased tax hike is to pay for unrealistically high salary increases for the town’s 75 (77 with two more proposed to be added by Baxley) full-time employees, as recommended by a consultant hired by the town.
The results were an astronomical increase in costs: an average increase in salary and benefits of $4,146 per employee.
As usual, the comparisons used by the consultant to compare salaries erred on the side of comparisons with larger, richer jurisdictions, so, inevitably, Gibsonville looked like a bunch of pikers.
But aldermen, without Williams there to restrain them, were all in on immediate gigantic raises for their town employees back in February.
Now the chickens are coming home to roost, with a whopping tax increase that the aldermen, naively, didn’t discuss or consider at the time.
It was irresponsible at the time, but it is even more so in hindsight, with the tax rate consequences now evident.
Also in Baxley’s proposed budget is a huge, 25 percent hike in water rates. While Burlington’s charges are up 5 percent, we cannot account for the rationale for the remainder of the huge increase.
All in all, Gibsonville’s budget is likely to cause a town rebellion, and understandably so.
Printed nearby are the addresses of the board members; we suspect many residents will want to let them know how they feel about such a large, and unexpected, hike in property taxes and water rates.
This is also an election year, and we fully expect there to be plenty of candidates – even moreso now than there might have been prior to the budget.
How to reach Gibsonville aldermen:
Mark Shepherd, mayor pro tem
Mail: 219 Circle Drive
Gibsonville, NC 27249
Email: marks0927@aol.com
Phone: (336) 449-5458
Bryant Crisp
Mail: 306 Walnut Crossing Drive
Whitsett, NC 27377
Email: nute33649@gmail.com
Phone: (336)675-6413
Paul Dean
Mail: 107 Kelly Street
Gibsonville, NC 27249
Email: roaches5101@aol.com
Phone: (336) 516-4418
Irene Fanelli
Mail: 809 Johnston Street
Gibsonville, NC 27249
Email: isfanellicih@mac.com
Phone: (336) 447-0672
Tangela Mitchell
Mail: 202 Cypress Court
Gibsonville, NC 27249
Email: aldermantmitchell@gmail.com
Phone: (743) 218-8014
All information from Town of Gibsonville and official public records
