Stokesdale Town Council meeting

as reported by PATTI STOKES

Mayor John Flynt called the monthly council meeting to order and Pastor David Bailey of Crossroads Community Church offered an opening prayer, which was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. The meeting agenda was unanimously adopted after a discussion item about a proposal to install netting to prevent birds from nesting at the front of Town Hall was removed. Public Safety. Stokesdale Fire Chief Todd Gauldin reported the department responded to 79 calls in November; 48 were fire-related and 31 medical-related.

Gauldin thanked everyone for abiding by the state-wide burn ban which went into effect Nov. 29 due to hazardous forest fire conditions; the ban was lifted for 67 of the state’s 100 counties on Dec. 8, but remained in effect for Guilford County (the ban was lifted for all counties on Dec. 13).

As a safety tip, Gauldin advised residents to not overload their outlets or power strips; keep live Christmas trees watered; and with any tree, keep it away from a source that can be ignited.

Town Clerk Dale Martin said Robin Yount, who joined the town’s staff last month as deputy clerk, will be attending new clerk school in January.

Staff is working with Total Computer Solutions to address issues with the town’s Facebook page, but it may need to be deleted and re-created.

Banners have been placed in the town park for a scavenger hunt contest organized by Piedmont Discovery, a joint project of several municipal governments including Stokesdale that is promoting local public parks to residents and visitors.

Martin said she had compiled a new council member orientation packet for the two newly elected council members, and new members are required to complete ethics training.  5  0 to approve minutes from the Jan. 14, 2021 meeting. Events Committee. “It’s finally here,” said Councilman Derek Foy of the town’s upcoming Christmas parade on Dec. 11, then announced Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson would be the parade’s grand marshal. At the time of this meeting the weather forecast called for afternoon rain and thunderstorms, and Foy said Dec. 18 would be the rain date if needed. Property Committee. Councilman Jim Rigsbee said there were still several exterior lights out at Town Hall and asked that staff contact the electrician again about fixing them.

Before giving her monthly report, Finance Officer Kim Thacker thanked the companies that sponsored this year’s Christmas parade. Including the two platinum sponsorships of $500 each from Northwest Observer and Kimberly Thacker Accounting & Tax Services, the town received a total of $1,725 in parade sponsorships this year.

Thacker then reported that Stokesdale has $3,184,555 in total assets in its General Fund account, which includes $2,557,607 in CDARS; it also has $1,802,446 in total assets in its Water Enterprise account, which includes $499,429 in CDARS with the Bank of Oak Ridge, $122,164.23 in a capital reserve fund, $522,504.35 in an N.C. management fund and $584,460.58 in investments through Fidelity Bank.

Council members thanked Thacker for all of her work in preparing for the town’s annual audit.

Rex Rouse of Rouse, Rouse, Rouse & Gardner presented the annual audit report and said all financial transactions for FY 2020-21 had been appropriately recorded. The fund balance in the general fund increased by $87,052 over the previous fiscal year.

The unassigned fund balance is 8.06 times the annual amount the town needs to operate at its current level of expenditures, meaning the town could go over eight years with no additional revenue before depleting its funds. Rouse noted that amount is “well above” the state average, which is six months.

“Notably there is no ad valorem tax for the Town of Stokesdale,” Rouse said. “To accumulate this much fund balance without a property tax – in a lot of respects I think the Town of Stokesdale is an exemplary town for other towns to follow. Th at’s mostly due in thanks to the preceding boards you’ve had who have been very conservative and able to accumulate this balance without a tax rate.”

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Photos by Patti Stokes/NWO Mike Crawford, who was elected as Stokesdale’s mayor last month, places his hand on a Bible held by his wife, Donna, as Guilford County Superior Court Judge Stuart Albright administers the oath of offi ce at the Dec. 9 town council meeting. In center photo, Tim Jones places his hand on the Bible held by Deputy Clerk Robin Younts as he is sworn into offi ce. And in photo on far right, Councilman Derek Foy is sworn in as the town’s mayor pro tem after being elected to that position by his fellow council members.

The actual expenses in the general fund were down by 26.5% percent last fiscal year compared to the previous fiscal year, partially due to a reduction in funding for park and downtown improvements.

At the conclusion of Rouse’s audit presentation, Mayor Flynt said, “Mr. Rouse, it looks like our revenues were up, our expenses were down, our cash reserves increased significantly and if we didn’t have any revenue for eight years we could operate the town with the money we have in cash reserves, correct?”

“Yes,” Rouse confirmed.  5  0 to accept the results of the Nov. 2 election, in which Mike Crawford was elected as the town’s mayor and Tim Jones as a council member. Oath of Office. Superior Court Judge Stuart Albright was introduced, and then administered the oath of office to Crawford and Jones. Afterward, Flynt passed the mayor’s gavel to Crawford and left the council table, along with Thearon Hooks, outgoing mayor pro tem.

Mayor Crawford then read proclamations of appreciation and presented plaques to Hooks, Flynt, and former ... continued on p. 42

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