Proposed BM budget includes no tax hike

No property tax changes are in the works for Black Mountain homeowners, according to a budget proposal the town’s board of aldermen worked on last week.

The proposed $10.2 million budget includes a 3 percent cost-of-living salary increase for town workers.

The working budget calls for property taxes to remain the same for the second consecutive year - 37 ¹/₂ cents per $100 of valuation. The board set a 6 p.m. June 15 public hearing to receive comments and suggestions on the 2015-16 spending plan.

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The budget indicates that, for the fifth consecutive year, the town will reduce debt. Allocated for that purpose in the 2015-16 is $596,226.

Capital improvements included in the proposed budget include $100,000 for new doors and windows at the Carver Community Center. Last year’s budget paid for a new roof to assist with lowering energy costs for the building.

Some $125,000 of $210,000 in special Powell Bill paving and sidewalk funding will go toward the third phase of the sidewalk project on Montreat Road. Previous phases have been completed in sections of 900 feet, but only 600 feet will be completed this year because of the position of a wall and several large trees, public services director Jamey Matthews said.

There will be “a lot more construction” involved in the upcoming phase of the project, he said. “The wall and all of those big trees are going to have to come out.”

Other proposed capital improvements for the fiscal year include $65,400 for two police cars and $93,000 for a new truck and mowers for the public service department.

The proposed $10,216,095 budget is 3.6 percent larger than last year’s budget.