It’s June, and that means local municipalities are working hard on budget preparations for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1. Most town councils have already held initial meetings on the 2012-13 budget proposals, with public hearings scheduled for later this month.

Ansonville

The 2012-13 budget for the town of Ansonville will have no changes from the previous year, Town Clerk Diane McLaughlin said. The tax rate, water and sewer, and trash collection rates will all remain the same for the coming year.

“We don’t have any significant changes at all,” McLaughlin said. “We should have the budget all ready by next week.”

The town council will hold a public hearing on the budget at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, June 25, at Town Hall.

Lilesville

Lilesville’s tax rate of 48 cents will remain the same for the next fiscal year, Town Clerk Lynn Whitlock said. However, there will be a 4-percent increase in water rates and a 2-percent rate increase for sewer.

“The main reason for the increase is that we have a grant that we’ve been trying to get for several years now,” Whitlock explained, “and we need to have our rates at a certain level to apply for that grant, to show that we are bringing in enough revenue. We have two more phases on water and sewer projects that we want to complete.”

The public hearing on Lilesville’s proposed budget will be held at 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 21, at the Lilesville Town Hall.

Morven

The Morven Town Council held its annual meeting to discuss the budget on Friday afternoon, June 9. Town Clerk Shemetra Melton said that the proposed budget includes a 40-percent decrease in sewer rates and a 2.7-percent increase in garbage collection rates, to a minimum of $25.64 and $13.53, respectively.

“The sewer rate went down because of some grants we’ve been getting to improve our infiltration,” Melton said, “and the garage rate has increased because of increases from our vendor.”

Melton has also proposed a 3-percent pay increase for town employees.

Morven’s public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Thursday, June 21, at 1 p.m. at Town Hall.

Peachland

The Peachland Town Council held the first of two public hearings on the 2012-2013 proposed budget Monday, June 4.

The second hearing will be held June 25 at 7 p.m. Under the proposed budget, property taxes will remain the same at $0.30. Water and sewer rates will remain the same as well.

Garbage services will go up because the charges by Waste Connections will go up, according to Town Clerk Lynn Griffin. The cost will go up $1 per month per customer. Residential customers will pay $7 per month while commercial customers will pay $8 per month.

New water customers will pay more for deposits on water meters. The deposit will increase from $100 to $150.

The general budget is $213,933. The water and sewer budget is $140,690. The power budget is $42,903.

Polkton

Polkton will hold a public hearing to approve the 2012-2013 budget on June 25.

The proposed $871,259.57 budget was presented June 4, according to Town Clerk Libby Cameron. Property taxes would remain flat at $0.25. Town employees would receive a raise for the first time in four years, 2 percent.

The minimum charge for water would be increased from $11 to $14. For every 1,000 gallons after the initial 3,000 gallons, residents will be charged $1 more than the current rate.

The proposal also contains a new $2.50 fee for trash pick-up but Cameron said the board has expressed opposition and she does not expect it to pass.