Council authorizes MSD study, debates nonprofit ARPA allocations and hears eviction-mediation, EPA grant and water-quality updates

The High Point City Council discussed multiple FY2025-26 budget matters, voted to authorize staff to prepare a Municipal Service District (MSD) report for downtown, and reviewed funding requests and infrastructure issues tied to ARPA and an EPA grant appeal.

Steven Haverluch, the city's budget and performance director, summarized responses to council questions about capital projects, personnel costs and debt strategy. Haverluch said the Gallimore Dairy Road widening contract was approved in March with an estimated completion date of November 2027. He said the Johnson Street/Sandy Ridge Road project contract is expected to be approved in June 2025; a completion date was not specified in his remarks.

Haverluch also provided cost detail for proposed civilian investigator positions in the police department. Each investigator would be placed at grade 27 in the city's salary plan (minimum $45,631), and the budget includes salary, benefits, operating costs and a one-time equipment and vehicle budget that the staff described as a $50,000 one-time cost per vehicle (lighting and striping included). He said a comparable Charlotte position has a minimum salary of $46,088.

On information-technology staffing, Haverluch said an IT cybersecurity analyst would be grade 35 with a minimum salary listed as $67,423.

Haverluch summarized the city's debt strategy and metrics: the council's debt-to-assessed-value policy limit is 2.5%, and the city's net tax-supported debt-to-assessed-value was 0.8% as of June 30 of the prior year; debt service as a percentage of…