Becky Garland
Robbinsville – A visit from the Local Government Commission is often preceded by a sense of dread.
But former county manager Becky Garland – now a coach for a region stretching between Cherokee and McDowell counties – brought good tidings with her to May 1’s Town of Robbinsville Board of Aldermen meeting.
After a year of teamwork, the biggest takeaway from her presentation was that the collaboration between the commission, the League of Municipalities and the town has resulted in the backlogged accounting work is making progress – albeit slowly, since Garland noted that the fiscal year 2022 budget was finally submitted for review.
“That’s a major win, considering you didn’t have a full-time finance officer for quite some time during the audit period,” Garland said, harkening back to the difficulty the town had in filling a vacancy created in July 2022.
Linda Parton has been the finance officer since last fall, providing the most stability the position has had in years.
However, there is still plenty of work left to do. The fiscal year 2023 budget is still open and the board started meeting to make plans for Robbinsville’s 2024-25 cycle after Wednesday’s press deadline.
Garland cautioned against the town looping in any major expenses to the plan.
“The board should be very conservative when making the budget,” said Garland. “But I’m very proud of the work the
town has done.”
Included later in her discussion with the board was the topic of amended W-2s, with the need to make changes dating back to some of the stubs issued in the late 2010s.
Simply put, former aldermen were not properly taxed on fringe benefits. Now, the town will have to work with an accounting firm to mitigate the issue – but will also have to pay interest, penalties and taxes on the payroll errors.
Aldermen Debbie Beasley and Kenneth Hyde voted 2-0 to give mayor Shaun Adams the green light in the search for a firm.
Other news & notes
* Within the next four weeks, “The Hut” could be moved to a new location between the former Graham County Urgent Care and co-op office off South Main Street, said REVVED UP (Robbinsville Envisioning Vital Vibrant Economic Development and Urban Prosperity) representative John Colwell.
Another plan for moving the famed cabin to a spot off Rodney Orr Bypass did not pan out, but Colwell did not
elaborate further on the matter.
He did include that the multi-use building – built by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) and the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) in the 1930s has had “2-3” dumpsters full of debris removed and hauled away.
* Relying on local historians, Beasley had progressed through much of the planning stages for a commemorative documentary to coincide with Robbinsville officially becoming a town 150 years ago, but Adams came equipped with paperwork from the state General Assembly, showing that the town was incorporated in 1897. Graham County branched off from Cherokee County in 1872.
“I can’t imagine a county going that long without having a town, but maybe so,” Beasley concluded.