The mayor’s comments came after a report from Finance Director MeLinda Hite which gave a review of the current budget picture.
The mayor said in city government there are two things that must be paid for: Code enforcement and debt obligation.
“I’m asking what do you as taxpayers want?” The mayor said at Tuesday night’s work session. “If spending continues Roanoke Rapids is limited on how it collects revenues.”
Doughtie said the city could raise taxes or it could request a temporary increase in the local sales tax.
“The third way to improve it is to reduce spending,” Doughtie said.
The city must meet its obligation on the theater debt, the mayor said, while continuing to market it for sale.
“We have some challenging times in the coming year,” Councilman Greg Lawson said. “We don’t want to see taxes increased. The city has to look at how it’s doing business.”
The city expects year end expenditures to be $13,910,338 with an undesignated fund balance of $4,342,945, or 31.2 percent of expenditures.
Revenues at the end of the fiscal year are expected to be $14,359,727, with revenues exceeding expenditures by $449,388.
The city’s tax base in 2010 was $1.130 billion, up $2 million from the previous year with a 62.4 cent property tax rate.
Statistics show $350 million in county retail sales, up $8 million from the previous year.
The city’s debt obligation at the end of the fiscal year will be $2,299,316.83. That figure includes $2 million for the theater but the overall is $207,000 less than the current year. In the upcoming fiscal year the city will retire two debts totaling $245,751.30.
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