Carrboro Plans for Budget Deficit

Carrboro Town Manager Robert Morgan announced that Easley had cut $298,930 from state-shared revenues for the town. This is in addition to an estimated $110,000 loss in sales tax and interest earnings projections, Morgan said.

Officials project a large fiscal problem for the residents of Carrboro -- especially because officials were expecting nearly half the amount of losses in sales tax and interest earnings projections.

"This situation that we are facing is indeed a dire situation" said Carrboro Mayor Mike Nelson. "It's not just the fiscal situation this year but the years following that are also going to be a problem."

In response to the budget cuts, Morgan prepared a plan of action that will replace the money Easley cut from the town's budget by using funds from Carrboro programs.

Morgan said the money cut from town departments, capital improvement plans and street resurfacing is expected to equal and ideally surpass Carrboro's shortfall of close to $410,000.

"We will have to make up a plan of action to deal with the bad decisions made in the state government," Morgan said.

But Nelson said he does not blame Easley for issuing the municipal cuts.

"The fault is not with the governor. He didn't make the problem; he is trying to clean it up," he said.

While the town officials and many Carrboro residents are still in disbelief about the sudden collapse of the state-supported revenues, Alderman Alex Zaffron said he is extremely concerned with Carrboro's fiscal future.

"I would urge the administration to look at schedules of capital purchases and how we might have to adjust these purchases in the future," Zaffron said.

Nelson said he too is worried about Carrboro's future.

"We will be playing catch-up for the next 10 years," he said.

The aldermen expressed their concern that the public is still not aware of how serious the financial crisis really is.

"I think people need to know that we are talking about right now, not July 1," said Aldermen Jacquelyn Gist.

Morgan agreed that while the cuts might not seem too painful now, they will drastically affect Carrboro residents in the future.

"We're anticipating that we'll see very little growth in our revenues next year," Morgan said.

While Carrboro officials are scrambling for money to meet their town's newly realized budget gap, they are considering and approving measures they hope will lessen the severity of Carrboro's financial situation.

One of the proposed solutions is to raise the fee for motor vehicle licenses from $15 to $20.

The aldermen voted unanimously to pass this increase because it will generate close to $43,000 in needed revenue for the town.

The aldermen's plan of action also included a drafted letter to Easley and a call to action by Alderman Joal Broun for the citizens of Carrboro.

Broun said, "I would ask our citizens to write our governor, write the speaker of the House and write your local officials."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.