An apology is in order. I have been so focused on tax rates, property valuations, sheriff contracts, water meters, sidewalks, water rates, grant funds and compensation, that I’ve fallen behind in my goal to be as transparent as possible when it comes to sharing information and updates on the work of this Council.
So let’s get right to it. The current budget planning cycle has been challenging, but not so much because of the property revaluations or tax rate calculations. It’s because our small town hasn’t yet mastered the art of making public data, financial records, amendments, ordinances and other budget-fueling information accessible.
All five members of this Council are working in, or have retired from, professions that collectively represent more than 100 years of experience in finance, education, communications, information technology, human resources and more.
We make informed decisions with facts, numbers and data. When the information flow slows, we research, study, compare, analyze, scrutinize, investigate and evaluate, always respectful of the fact that each person is doing and saying what he or she believes to be in the best interests of Jamestown and its citizens.
Which is why it disappoints me when I hear one of my hard-working colleagues getting more credit than he deserves for “swaying” the rest of us. We all know how to sway, but that’s not how we play.
At the June 4th budget session, Mayor pro tem Pam Burgess said it best: “… I did my own research and this is how I feel about it.”
Here’s some of “my own research,” along with other info I’ve received, compiled and/or used in the budget-setting decisions, or plan to use in the months to come. I’ll be adding to this list, so check back for updates. This is public information.
POSITION CLASSIFICATION PAY PLAN. NC General Statute 160A-162 assigns decision-making authority for employee compensation to the Town Council via the adoption of a Position Classification Plan. It establishes pay rates for positions, not persons. Only the city council and board of county commissioners have the authority to adopt pay plans. This is the current pay plan adopted by a previous Jamestown Town Council. I saw it for the first time last week after asking the town manager and HR director for it. Sure would have been nice to have had it to refer to at the beginning of this budget cycle:
BENEFITS STATEMENT. Here’s another one we saw for the first time last week. NCGS 160A-162(b) and 160A-164 give Council decision-making authority regarding “the purchase of life, health, and any other forms of insurance for employees and their dependents” and “rules, regulations and ordinances concerning annual leave, sick leave, special leave with pay, hours of employment, holidays, working conditions, service award and incentive award programs, other personnel policies, and any other measures that promote the hiring and retention of capable, diligent, and honest career employees.”
This is the benefits package approved by a previous Jamestown Town Council:
EMPLOYEE LIST (requested, not yet received). NCGS 160A-168(b) states that the following information with respect to each town or city employee is a matter of public record and must be disclosed to the public when requested [NCGS 160A-168(b) defines the term “salary” for the purposes of this section as “pay, benefits, incentives, bonuses and deferred and all other forms of compensation paid by the employing entity”]: (1) Name. (2) Age.(3) Date of original employment or appointment to the service. (4) The terms of any contract whether written or oral. (5) Current position. (6) Title. (7) Current salary. (8) Date and amount of each increase or decrease in salary (including pay, bonuses and benefits). (9) Date and type of each promotion, demotion, transfer, suspension, separation, or other change in position classification (10) Date and general description of the reasons for each promotion. (11) Date and type of each dismissal, suspension, or demotion for disciplinary reasons. If the disciplinary action was a dismissal, a copy of the written notice of the final decision of the municipality setting forth the specific acts or omissions that are the basis of the dismissal. (12) The office to which the employee is currently assigned.
I asked for the employee list on June 3rd. The town manager brought up my request for discussion in the June 4th budget work session and said he needed consensus of the rest of Council before he would ask staff to provide it.
It’s part of the benefits and compensation discussion that takes place at 1:45:29 through 1:57:18 on the meeting video: https://www.youtube.com/live/CdrDYezndns?si=sVS16B1XNuEsMrQn
I cut and pasted this directly from NCGS 160A-168(b), but agreed to eliminate items 8 thru 11 from the list because it was going to take “hours” or “days” to provide what I mistakenly assumed was already in place or documented somewhere.
I hope to receive the employee list soon.
ORGANIZATION CHART. Here’s the latest, updated May 8, 2026:
GOLF & PARK ANNUAL LOSSES, 2017 thru YTD 4/30/26. I filled in the 2025 column in this spreadsheet using the 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report presented at the February 2026 Council Meeting. The numbers in the 2026 column are pulled from the budget/actuals statement (through April 30, 2026).
It was only after creating this spreadsheet yesterday that I learned: (1) in fiscal year 2024-25, the annual loss for Golf & Parks/Recreation grew by $655,572 to a loss of ($1,700,643), and (2) as of April 30, 2026, this year’s loss is already at ($1,472,304).
The monthly golf report and budget-to-actuals report are two very important financial reporting tools that town staff stopped providing to Council in early 2024.
In January and February I made several requests for the monthly budget-to-actuals report, which returned beginning with the March meeting. It’s provided to us as a paper copy (but not included in the online meeting packets as was done in the past).
In order to better understand how reporting has changed, this is how the monthly golf report was presented prior to 2024:
The golf report is now presented quarterly instead of monthly, with less detail. This is the April 2026 report:
GUILFORD COUNTY SHERIFF’S CONTRACT. Contrary to the Jamestown News’ account of “changed minds” at the June 4th budget session, the Council exercised common sense and said “no” to the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office request for $592,000/year (a request that was sent by text just a half hour after their earlier request for $517,000/year was approved) because it was sudden and without explanation. With the $517,000 now off the table, Council made the decision to cut back to the next level of service (at $475,000/year) until more is known.
AMI WATER METERS. The Town Manager’s original budget had an appropriation of $750,000 for AMI water meters. Anecdotally, I was 100% for this at first, because from the consumer side, I’ve experienced firsthand how the AMI dashboards and apps can help cut down on the cost of your monthly water usage.
But after reading these responses to questions I asked of the town manager, and after receiving/seeing no maps, lists, specs or accounting for the thousands of dollars spent in the last couple of years on AMI meters and studies, I had no objections when another council member suggested delaying the meters until next year:
At the June 4th budget session, however, the public services director gave such a compelling argument for replacing a few meters at a time, Council agreed to appropriate for the replacement of a couple hundred of the oldest meters in the coming year at a cost of $100,000 (instead of 1,500 meters at $750,000).
EXPENDITURES BY CATEGORY. A different perspective:
More to come.