Leland had a serious budget fight two years ago when the tax rate jumped by 17%. After that public pushback, the town tried to be more transparent about the budget. That’s why there was a public forum last week where residents could ask specific questions — and they did, for several hours.
One speaker, for instance, focused on zero-based budgeting — which requires line-item level justification for all expenses — and asked the city to provide detailed explanations.
Finance Director Carly Hagg responded, "We don't necessarily sit and justify why we need office supplies in writing, in formal documents. Everything that we have on the website is 10 times what other places are putting out, like we are putting out just an abundance of information on our website.”
That kind of explanation did not satisfy many of the speakers, however, who suggested the information should be provided in other formats. Hagg appeared to get frustrated over some of the questions asking for granular detail on each line item.
'We're three levels into this now, and it feels like the more that we give out, it's never going to be enough," she said.
The attendee asked whether the citizens deserved an explanation, and Hagg said they could ask those questions in this forum or by email and get explanations for specific items, but the town wouldn't write out each explanation without that kind of inquiry.
Other attendees questioned why the town would pay for trainings for staff or for specific benefits, like 401K matching. Staff responded that such benefits help keep the town competitive, so it can hire qualified employees.
Other critics, like resident Rhonda Florian, asked council to try to cut the tax rate by another penny, and asked them to pave all the remaining dirt roads in town.
"We should not spend one penny on repaving anything until all the streets in this town are paved," she said. Staff responded that there are plans to pave those streets in the engineering phase.
This year’s budget is around $50 million, with a reduction of the tax rate from 27 cents to 25 cents. They’re also planning to hire 10 new positions in the new fiscal year. The town’s budget hearing is Thursday, March 19 at 6 p.m. Speakers will each have three minutes to share their thoughts with the city council. The council is set to adopt its budget April 19.
