Kinston City Council approves budget without raises

Kinston’s City Council approved an operating budget for the fiscal year ‘20-’21 during a short virtual meeting held Wednesday evening.

Following Monday evening’s public hearing on the proposed budget, the council recessed for a further twenty-four hours of public comment period, as required under emergency rules for virtual public hearings during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Not present in the budget approved Wednesday evening was the proposed raise for city council members and the mayor, which had caused controversy and was addressed in Monday evening’s meeting. All members of the council voted in favor of the amended budget. 

Council members noted on Monday that the proposed raise had been considered prior to the drop in revenues caused by the pandemic, and Councilwoman Kristal Suggs said the Council would never have proceeded with a budget containing the raise under these circumstances. 

“We as a body are very cognizant of what’s going on in our community. There is a need for a raise, but a raise is something we shouldn’t and can’t do at this time,” Suggs said. 

The approved budget, as noted in previous articles, does severely limit capital outlay. The budget as passed will not require any hiring freezes or employee furloughs. As stated previously, those outcomes were a possibility only in the event of an even more severe drop in revenue than the budget anticipates. 

Also discussed during Monday’s meeting was the imminent reopening of the Holloway Recreation Center pool, the splash pad at Fairfield Park, and the Lions Water Adventure water park. All three locations will reopen Saturday, June 20, with new social distancing and sanitation procedures in place.

Procedures at Lions Water Adventure in particular will be different, with ticket sales limited to 700 per day, in two sessions of 350. One session will take place in the morning, and one in the afternoon, with a break for cleaning and sanitation between the two. 

You can read a full explanation of the new admission policies and sanitation plans, as well as purchase tickets in advance at the Lions Water Adventure website here.