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State Port Pilot:
Farris seeks more stability in budget
by Jonathan Spiers - May 16,
2007
While town manager Bill Farris
recommends maintaining Leland finances at status quo next fiscal
year, his preparation of the town budget offers an opportunity
for the veteran administrator to clean house.
The former manager of the City of Wilmington is not recommending
any major adjustments to town revenues or expenditures next
fiscal year, which begins July 1, but he is tweaking the town’s
financial structure to something he considers more stable.
Case in point:
He is lifting the town’s heavy reliance on building permits as a
steady stream of revenue. Farris has said he has never known of
a town budget that depends on development fees more than
property taxes, pointing to the potential impact of changes in
the economy and the housing market.
He projects a decrease of approximately 20 percent in the number
of permits issued next year, but he still wants to redirect
those funds from being used solely for daily operations.
“I would like to be able to use that money for non-recurring
growth expenses,” Farris said. “I think the town financially is
healthier if we are in a position of putting those fees which
are so tied to the economy where we didn’t have to rely on them
for operations.”
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Reprinted by permission - The
State Port Pilot - Copyright 2007
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Town Departments