Wrightsville Beach town leaders and staff met March 26 to discuss possible cuts to help balance the town’s proposed $10.77 million budget for fiscal year 2015-16.
To make up the current $156,704 shortfall, the town could forego less urgent items like renovations to town council chambers in favor of constructing a shower facility for the town’s sewer workers. A restructuring of the police department proposed by police chief Dan House could also save money.
The town’s proposed budget includes plans to upgrade its council chambers, where multiple town boards hold meetings every month. The renovations would cost $40,000.
During the budget meeting, the aldermen agreed the renovations were not as critical as other building projects such as creating a shower facility for the public works department’s sewer workers.
Right now, town manager Tim Owens said, the workers are getting sewage on their clothing and then walking through the fire department to use the showers intended for interns.
“They’ve got the dirtiest job in town and they don’t have any means to go clean up,” public works director Mike Vukelich said.
Until the town finds enough funds to build the shower facility, alderwoman Elizabeth King pointed out the trailer that serves as the N.C. Holiday Flotilla headquarters has an attached shower facility the sewer workers could use.
Changes in the town’s police department could also be implemented during the coming fiscal year.
During the March 4 budget meeting, House requested two new police officer positions to increase police presence in the downtown district during weekend nights. He said he perceived hesitancy from the aldermen during that meeting so he came back to the board with a new concept March 26.
The plan requires just one new officer position and would increase efficiency throughout the department at no additional cost, he said.
One of his captains, Michael Core, is retiring in a month. Rather than filling the vacant captain position, House proposed hiring a lieutenant to replace Core and hiring one additional police officer.
House said this would take administrative duties away from his sergeants, allowing them to be out on the road all day. The two lieutenants would take on the administrative duties during the week and patrol on the weekends. They would rotate shifts, so a lieutenant would always be on duty and patrolling downtown on weekend nights.
“So that would put five people on the road most of the times when we’re having problems, rather than three people on the road,” House said.
The department also currently has vacancies for five reserve officers, but House proposed not filling those positions and just utilizing the five reserve officers he currently has. House said cutting those hiring costs would help offset the new police officer’s salary.
“The idea is to streamline the agency,” he said, adding the other purpose is to have more officers out patrolling after recent incidents in the bar district.
“Especially with the fight that happened downtown,” he said, “that could have gone really bad and the last thing we want to see is somebody hurt or killed.”
The board will continue to consider House’s request and other budget items during its next budget meeting April 14.
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