Spring Lake has a new finance director

James Overton, the town’s new finance director, was introduced to the Spring Lake Board of Commissioners Monday night at its regularly scheduled work session. 

After three years of being under state financial control with contracted staff from the state’s Local Government Commission, the town is moving in a new, positive direction, according to Mayor Kia Anthony.

Spring Lake’s former finance director Gay Tucker was sentenced in late 2022 to four years in prison for embezzling $567,070 from the town over a five-year period.

“Having you here physically really shows the work that the town and staff have put in,” Anthony told Overton, who started full time as the finance director on July 15.

With the financial piece in place, the board also discussed the town’s outward appearance as it looked at ideas on how to clean up blighted areas in town and encourage residents to keep their yards tidy.

Introduction of new finance director

What happened: Overton, a CPA who introduced himself as having over 45 years of governmental accounting experience, said “there is still a lot of work to do.” He reviewed a finance report with a snapshot of the town’s cash balances and asked the board to approve two budget amendments. One budget amendment adjusted workers’ compensation insurance premiums and the other allocated insurance premiums to the proper fund and department.

Why it matters: The town has not had a permanent finance director since Tucker was terminated in March 2021 and a state investigation revealed financial mismanagement. The N.C. Local Government Commission took control of the town’s finances in October 2021.

What’s next: Overton said he plans to continue familiarizing himself with the town’s budget, including looking into why a non-departmental expenditure was $390,000 over budget for the last fiscal year. He also planned to wrap up grant funds that had been spent including ARPA funds and other funds for parks and recreation. Another grant for $110,000 will go towards the Veterans Memorial Park at the corner of Main Street and Ruth Street. 

Anthony said that she was impressed with Overton’s presentation.

“The transparency and accuracy is an absolute, good thing,” Anthony said.

Town discusses blighted areas

What’s happened: Commissioner Raul Palacios, who serves on the town’s appearance committee, led a discussion on blighted areas of Spring Lake and what the town could further do to mitigate vacant boarded-up properties and overgrown grass. 

The board discussed reaching residents and property owners, through mailings and other town communications, as well as through churches.

Commissioner Marvin Lackman said that residents should be taking advantage of the twice-a-year clean-ups the town hosts that provide for document shredding and hazardous waste disposal. Lackman also leads the monthly town clean-up through his group “Spring Lake Matters,” which meets every first Saturday. Those clean-up efforts are supported by Palacios and Commissioner Adrian Thompson; on average, they collect more than 1,000 pounds of trash each month. 

Why it matters: The town has started a new way to report nuisance complaints, asking residents to send a picture and an address to [email protected]. Town Manager Jon Rorie said that they have the hotline email to reach four people in administration, planning and code enforcement. He said residents should expect to receive a response within 72 hours and have an update on the action taken within 10 days. 

He said that current town policies regarding code enforcement are outdated and ordinances are not as strong as they need to be.

“They have not been adjusted to today’s times,” Rorie said.

What’s next: The board plans to meet every third Wednesday to delve into policy review. The time for the meetings have not yet been set.

Amendment to fee schedule

What happened: The board considered increasing fees for vendors and food trucks at special events. Special event vendor fees will increase to $50 from $25, and a new fee for food trucks will be $75. There was no previous fee for food trucks.

Why it matters: The town will be hosting First Friday on Main starting on Aug. 2. Rorie said it would help regulate vendors in front of brick-and-mortar businesses during special events.

What’s next: The fees will go into effect for the next special event along with a new $4.50 convenience fee for using credit cards.

New staff reports to give comparable data

What happened: Town Manager Jon Rorie presented new staff reports in graphic form, which he said would be ideal to share on social media and on the town website. The reports from fire, administration, police, public buildings, street, fleet, sanitation, police, planning and development and water resources showed items accomplished in the fourth quarter, such as 91 potholes repaired, 215 building permits issued and 34 smoke alarms installed.

Why it matters: The board will be able to use comparable data for decision-making. Rorie said he hopes to incorporate graphs to show the data over time.

What’s next: Rorie said the board would receive these reports quarterly.

The Spring Lake Board of Commissioners will hold its next regularly scheduled meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 12 at the Grady Howard Conference Room of the Spring Lake municipal complex.