Trenton Town Budget set to be finalized June 25

By Junious Smith III

TRENTON — The Trenton town budget is set to pass with no increase in taxes.

There were no public comments in Tuesday’s town meeting, which was set up to give residents a chance to look over the budget.

Trenton Mayor Darlene Spivey said one of the biggest worries in the budget was accommodating for those who haven’t moved back to the area due to the tragedy of Hurricane Florence.

“We had concerns about people still not back in their homes, which did affect the budget,” Spivey said.

The Board agreed to a plan where more reserve funds are being used as a means to prevent rate increases. There was an increase from $34,283.70 from the reserve balance in the 2018-19 budget to $241,282.37 for the upcoming one.  

“Right now, we’re using reserve funds to balance the budget,” Spivey said. “Without an increased sewer rate, we’ll work with what we’ve got for the fiscal year and we also agreed not to raise property taxes, as they’ll remain at .38.”

The Board will meet on June 25 at 7 p.m. to finalize the 2019-20 fiscal year plan.