Property tax rates unchanged in new Morganton budget (2024)

City of Morganton residents shouldn’t expect much impact to their wallets from tax and utility rates for the upcoming fiscal year.

The Morganton City Council voted Monday night to keep the city’s property tax rate at 50 cent per $100 in value. The city’s special downtown tax rate also will remain unchanged at 12 cent per $100 of property value.

There will be a increases in the city’s water and wastewater rates. City Manager Sally Sandy said those rate increases should amount to less than $1 per month for the average residential customer.

City employees will reap the benefits of a 4% cost of living adjustment, effective in July. Eligible employees also will receive a 1% merit raise in March, according to the budget.

New subdivision on tap for Kirksey Drive area

A new subdivision is in the works for an area off Rockyford Street.

The subdivision, expected to be called Carriage Park, would be accessed off Shore Drive and have seven single family homes.

Each fiscal year for the last several years, the city has allocated $200,000 each for sewer and water infrastructure and $150,000 for road construction in a housing stimulus fund, city officials said.

City council members approved a loan of $35,000 for water, $35,000 for sewer and $75,000 for construction of a new street in the subdivision. The loan will have a 0% interest rate and the city will be paid 50% of the loan value once lots are sold. The remaining 50% of the loan will become a grant.

CoMMA to get new sound system

It might be music to the sound of CoMMA fans’ ears to know the performing arts center soon will get an upgrade to its sound system.

Council members approved a contract with OnAVS Audio Visual Solutions in North Wilkesboro to replace the main speaker system, the speaker system interface and an acoustic treatment package for the building.

The upgrade will cost the city $859,210. The city will finance $803,000 through First Citizens Bank at a rate of 4.53% for just under five years.

There’s about a four to seven month lead time for materials from the company OnAVS uses. Once those materials are available, work should be completed in four to six weeks, city officials said.

Facelift coming for North Green Street

The council accepted a grant worth $850,000 for the North Green Street Streetscape Project.

The project is expected to cost a total of more than $2.27 million. It will see upgrades to water and sewer lines, electric lines will be replaced and buried, cable and internet lines will be replaced and storm drains, sidewalks and crosswalks will be improved, city officials said.

The project will improve two blocks along North Green Street from East Union Street to Patterson Street.

Reclassification of city streets

Council members approved reclassifying some city roads from primary roads to secondary roads.

The change was made so it would be easier for the city to keep its downtown parklets, which were created during the COVID-19 pandemic to give downtown restaurants more seating options when social distancing restrictions were in effect, but their locations along main roads like West Union Street (U.S. Highway 70) can clash with federal and state rules about highways, city leaders said.

The changes also should help lessen the amount of tractor-trailer truck driving through downtown.

City officials have been working with the NC Department of Transportation for years to figure out a way to route trucks out of downtown and onto the bypass (Fleming Drive). Changing the classification of some streets in town will cause DOT to put up new signs directing truckers to the appropriate route.

DOT will remain responsible for road maintenance. The city could opt to take control of maintenance of some sections of the streets, but city staff still are working out if the city should take that step, officials said.

Other items

The council also approved:

The council won’t meet again until August.