Summerdale approves amended budget, discusses reopenings and future events

By Jessica Vaughn
Posted 5/18/20

SUMMERDALE - The Town of Summerdale approved an amended budget during the May meeting, which they fortunately found to have only minor changes.

“One of the main things I had to decrease in the …

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Summerdale approves amended budget, discusses reopenings and future events

Posted

SUMMERDALE - The Town of Summerdale approved an amended budget during the May meeting, which they fortunately found to have only minor changes.

“One of the main things I had to decrease in the revenues was building permits,” said Town Clerk Tiffany Lynn. “I changed it to $50,000, when we had budgeted $80,000. So far we’ve only collected a little over $14,000, so we’ve seen a decline. At the beginning of the fiscal year last October we were booming with house building, so that’s definitely decreased for now.”

One thing the town has not seen affected are sales taxes.

“Summerdale is blessed to have businesses that were mostly unaffected by COVID-19,” said Mayor David Wilson. “We have a restaurant that wasn’t able to open, but then we have a tractor supply store that saw revenues go through the roof, and the Dollar General and gas stations weren’t impacted by the closures.”

Town officials don’t expect to see a huge change in sales tax as the months continue, but if needed the budget can be reamended at a later time.

While the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t affect town sales tax, town officials recognize it did affect many town citizens. Because of this, council voted to extend the waving of late fees on town water and garbage bills through the month of June. The town previously voted to waive late fees for March, April, and May.

With the Stay at Home order being lifted and the Safer at Home order being passed, Summerdale has started to see reopenings in the town. Summerdale Public Library reopened on Monday, May 11, and has a ten-person limit inside the library at one time. Library workers are maintaining a regular cleaning schedule, and every book returned has its cover cleaned and is put into “quarantine” for 72-hours before being returned to the shelf. No children’s programs are being held at this time.

The Summerdale Splash Park is set to reopen to the public on June 1.

The National Day of Prayer, which was not able to occur at the beginning of May, has been rescheduled to take place on Wednesday, June 10. Plans are to hold the event within Town Hall, as seen in previous years. Depending on social distancing orders at the time, the event may be held outside. Further information will be announced as plans progress.

The Town of Summerdale Fourth of July Fireworks are still scheduled for Saturday, July 4.

For more information on the Town of Summerdale, check out https://www.summerdaleal.com/.