Pinehurst Today

The Pinehurst Village Council proposed a spending plan in April that would raise the tax rate a half-cent as part of a five-year plan to address increases in certain operational expenses, according to a local report. 

The five-year plan to raise the tax rate half-cent per year until 2024 is connected to "increasing pressures," policymakers said, according to an April report in ThePilot.com. If council members approve the spending plan, it would cost taxpayers 30.5 cents per $100 of assessed property value. 

The council is still working on the budget, with virtual sessions scheduled for Tuesday, May 19 and Thursday, May 21, according to the village website. The public hearing for the spending plan will also take place virtually on Tuesday, May 26 starting at 4:30 p.m. 

Village policymakers related the "increasing pressures" to dealing with mandated pension contributions, county-charged recycling and tipping fees and an estimated 2.5% increase in operating expenses related to inflation, ThePilot.com reported.  

Village Manager Jeff Sanborn had warned last year that without the proposed tax increase the municipality would have to use more of its reserves to cover projected operating losses.

“What happened about this time last year, there were some major impacts we had to come to terms with,” Sanborn told The Pilot, referring to retirement rate increases and higher landfill tipping fees.

The budget for next year includes hiring a transportation planner at a cost of $97,800, ThePilot.com reported. Additionally, policymakers proposed spending approximately $730,000 for upgrades to the commercial section, hiking trail corridor, new sidewalks and walking paths, stormwater master plan development and revising or updating a village development ordinance, ThePilot.com reported.  

The five-year budget plan also calls for an additional $330,000 in funding to be spent for stormwater system improvements from fiscal years 2023 to 2025, ThePilot.com reported.

Sanborn indicated the budget is intended to provide needed improvements to the community in as cost-effective a manner as possible.

"This is really a snapshot," he said of the budget preview. "The intent is to make sure you know where we are headed and we know we are headed in the right direction with regard to meeting your priorities.”