The Memorial Day Picnic to officially open the McCoy property to the public was one of the town of Walden’s biggest accomplishments in 2015, according to Mayor Bill Trohanis.The new year is already shaping up to be bigger for both the towns of Signal Mountain and Walden – and 2015 was a significant year, officials say.
Both towns have several issues looming over the horizon, and officials are preparing and investigating the best ways to deal with them.
“Managing the budget coming in July within the potential reductions that may be on their way is one of our top priorities,” said Walden Mayor Bill Trohanis. “We’re cognizant of the sales tax and Hall tax issues. It could be a trying year, and the board and I will have to be good servants of the residents and their money moving forward.”
The Walden Board of Mayor and Aldermen is doing its best to keep up to date on anything new that could arise in regards to the taxation issues, he added.
Signal Mountain Town Manager Boyd Veal echoed Trohanis’ sentiment regarding the town’s financial priorities in the new year.
“We have to do it every year, but we’re already beginning work on the 2016-2017 budget,” Veal said. “This year looks like it could be more of a challenge depending on what comes to fruition, and we’re taking that into account.
“We’re putting a priority on trying to identify innovative measures to improve our operations. The last thing we want to consider is reduction in services or raising taxes. Our only goal is to be good stewards of the town, and while every year is important, it stands to be even more so this year.”
The town of Signal Mountain has numerous projects set to break ground in the coming months, which Veal said the Town Council is happily looking forward to. Such projects include the completion of the new Public Works facility, beginning the process for establishing a fire station on Shackleford Ridge Road, and renovating a portion of James Boulevard near Alexian Village, which will include redoing all the waterlines.
“We’ve got preliminary design work and engineering paperwork submitted already,” Veal said of all the projects save for the almost-complete Public Works building, “and so things are moving along pretty reasonably.”
The council is also looking to establish a positive working relationship with a 501(c)(3) organization that is currently being created in support of the MACC. The nonprofit organization should be up and running at some point this year, said Veal.
Similarly, Trohanis said he is looking forward to continuing a positive relationship between the town of Walden and the several public properties within the town.
“Between regrowing the Pumpkin Patch, renewing the Bachman lease and working with the McCoy property, we are going to work to serve the town’s and nonprofits’ needs,” he said. “We’re looking for those organizations to be sustainable and mirror the needs with the community’s.”
Trohanis said he was particularly happy with the Memorial Day Picnic that formally reopened the McCoy property in 2015. He is already “looking forward to another successful picnic in 2016.” Trohanis called the revitalization of the McCoy property one of Walden’s biggest accomplishments in 2015, and is excited about the upcoming prospects.
For Veal, Signal Mountain’s most significant accomplishment last year wasn’t a very visible one, but it was important all the same, he said.
“One of the things that ties this year [2015] together with the next was our efforts to secure a new bond rating for the town,” he said, referring to Signal Mountain’s bond rating from Moody’s Investors Service, which rates towns on fiscal responsibility and management. “We secured an interest rate of less than 1 percent. We’ve never had a bond rating before, and we felt it was worth the effort. It’s enabled us to be more efficient and cost-effective with our funds when we move on town projects.”
Veal said the lack of a bond rating wouldn’t have prevent the town from moving foward with the Public Works building, for example, but it enabled the board to be more responsible with citizens’ money via the low, fixed interest rate, which was “of the utmost importance to us.”
Both towns have serious financial considerations to make in 2016, which could entail some very difficult decisions being made, but both Walden and Signal Mountain officials say they are dedicated to doing everything in their power to make 2016 a prosperous one for their constituents.
Email Shane Foley at sfoley@timesfreepress.com.