The Spring Lake Board of Aldermen were told Monday from the town’s finance officer that their earlier votes for police and fire department raises could not take effect until the Local Government Commission reviewed and voted on budget amendments on April 2.
At their last meeting on March 11, the board approved a 20% salary increase for the police department and eliminated “sleep pay” for the fire department. The board re-voted Monday, seeking clarity “due to vague use of words” in the motion from the previous meeting. They included verbiage such as “excluding the police chief, part-time police officers and administration employees.” The board intended to make the changes take effect on Monday before being told at the end of the finance report delivered later during the meeting that the LGC would need to provide approval by resolution on April 2.
The board added a finance report to the agenda from Kendra Boyle, the town’s finance officer and assistant director of the Fiscal Management Section of the State and Local Government Finance Division for the N.C. Dept. of the State Treasurer, who was present along with Tiffany Anderson, the town’s deputy finance director. At the end of the report, Boyle told the board that the process they had followed through the initial direction of Debra Mack, a finance consultant with Greg Isley, CPA, who is working on the town’s audit, was incorrect.
“As of now, I do not have a budget amendment to take to the LGC on April 2,” Boyle said. ”Anything over 5% has to be approved by the LGC.”
Here’s what happened during the financial report:
Town received reports from July to January
What happened: The board received an update from Boyle, who presented financial reports from July 2023 to January 2024. The board received the financial reports after the agenda had been sent out on Wednesday, and was told that Boyle would be at the next meeting to provide more details and answer questions.
Why it matters: The state Local Government Commission (LGC) assumed control of Spring Lake’s finances in October 2021.
What’s next: Mayor Kia Anthony asked that the financial statements be accompanied by summary reports, including fund balances and investment accounts as were previously given by former finance officer David Erwin, who retired in September. Boyle said Erwin was manually compiling the summaries. She said she was working towards a report that would be more streamlined for the board and the town. Anthony said she would like to see those reports back.
Pay raises for police and fire halted
What happened: At the board’s last meeting on March 11, the board voted unanimously to increase police salaries by 20% and eliminate sleep pay for the fire department, which would increase their pay. At Monday’s meeting, the board re-voted on both items for “clarity and for town records,” according to Anthony. The motions passed unanimously.
At the end of her finance report, Boyle told the board that anything over a 5% increase needed to be approved by the LGC.
“You do not have the authority to make that happen without approval from the LGC,” Boyle said.
The aldermen expressed frustration that Boyle had not notified them of the correct process prior to Monday’s meeting and after the second vote in two weeks was taken, even though she was aware of the board’s discussion and intention to raise the salaries at the previous meeting.
Boyle explained the board needed calculations through the town’s contracted finance department to see if the proposal is doable before the board sends a resolution request to the LGC for a vote.
On behalf of the board, Town Attorney Michael Porter asked for better communication between town staff and the LGC finance officers.
Why it matters: The board wanted to pass the 20% pay increase for members of the town police department and eliminate “sleep time” for the fire department, which would increase the fire department’s net salary as a result, in order to help attract more police officers and firefighters to the town.
In emails obtained by CityView on Monday, Spring Lake Police Lieutenant Greg Wilkerson, thanked financial consultant Debra Mack and HR director Paula Stewart, who is contracted through the North Carolina Council of Governments, for their help in passing the raises for the police department.
He said that the pay raise is a big first step in fixing the problem with recruitment and retention.
What’s next: The Local Government Commission would need to consider the request and approve the resolutions for the pay increases at a future meeting for fiscal year 2024.
Street closure for art mural approved
What happened: The board approved a street closure on Main Street between Spring Avenue and Johnson Street for a new wall mural to be unveiled on May 4.
Why it matters: The wall mural will be painted by Karoll Echeverri Kuri and will be located at 108 N. Main St. Out of four other artists, Kuri was selected by the Spring Lake Appearance and Sustainability Committee to paint the second mural on the Spring Lake Art Trail.
Kuri said after the meeting that she did not want to reveal too much yet about the design, but she wants to bring some joy and color to the mural to create a sense of belonging and community.
“At every instance, there is more than the eye can see, more than the ear can hear, a setting or a view waiting to be explored,” Kuri said. “Nothing is experienced by itself, but always about its surroundings, the sequences of events leading up to it and the memory of past experiences.”
Her initial design shows six sections in rainbow colors, which will have individual scenes on them. Alderman Raul Palacios said previously that one section will have handprints of residents and another will highlight the town's love for each citizen and remind all that they are loved and not forgotten.
What’s next: Kuri will be soliciting community participation for the mural, similar to the process for the first mural, which was unveiled last November on Veterans Day. Palacios said that the Appearance Committee was working on two other locations for future art and that a third mural is expected to be completed by Veterans Day this year.
Schedule set for staff performance evaluations
What happened: The board voted to use evaluation forms to assess the performance of key town officials, such as the town manager, town clerk and attorney. All three positions are hired by the board.
Why it matters: Earlier this month, the board hired new town manager Jonathan “Jon” Rorie, who will start in May. The board will follow the process already used by the town manager for the staff, which involves a self-evaluation in March and a formal evaluation in October.
What’s next: The three positions — town manager, town clerk and town attorney — will be asked to list goals in the self-evaluation and will be assessed formally in the next six months.
The Spring Lake Board of Aldermen will hold its next regularly scheduled meeting at 6 p.m. on April 8 at the Grady Howard Conference Room of the Spring Lake municipal complex.
Jami McLaughlin covers Spring Lake for CityView Today. She can be reached at jmclaughlin@cityviewnc.com or at 910-391-4870.
