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Pittsboro budget includes new IT manager and additional public-safety and public-works staff
Summary
Council heard staff requests to add an IT manager to centralize digital services and to add patrol officers and public-works positions; staff said some positions are phased to full time in July and will address growing demands from new development and more complex municipal IT needs.
Town staff told the board on March 31 that an IT manager position would be programmed to start in January (phased to full time) to handle networking, backups, phone systems and support for multiple departments. Staff described current arrangements as decentralized and said the new position would consolidate duties now provided by outside vendors and ad‑hoc in‑house support.
Staff also described proposed police staffing changes: the budget proposes two additional patrol positions (staff said the original police request was for four but was reduced to accommodate IT needs). The police presentation also referred to adding two officers to detective/community policing earlier in the fiscal year and to expanding body-camera licensing and device counts — staff said body-camera licensing is a material recurring expense in the police budget.
Public-works and parks staffing additions were discussed: a half-year funding line for an additional maintenance worker was included to support increased routine maintenance and special events; the parks and recreation budget also includes additional part‑time hours for downtown coverage.
Why it matters: Staffing decisions affect response times, facility maintenance and downtown operations as the town grows and applications for services and facilities increase.
Key details - IT manager: proposed start January (phased to full time), responsibilities include backups, network and desktop support, vendor management and future planning. Staff said some backup services would remain contracted while the manager would reduce recurring vendor load. - Police: two patrol positions programmed in the draft to start in July; previous requests were for four positions but were adjusted for competing priorities. - Public works/parks: one half‑year maintenance worker and additional part‑time parks funding for downtown staffing; the department is creating crew-leader positions for supervision.
Discussion and next steps Commissioners asked about pay increases tied to certifications (CDL training for public-works staff) and whether the town would cover training costs; staff said costs were roughly $5,000 per CDL course and planned to stagger training. Staff agreed to return with specifics on timing and placement of new positions as part of the budget adoption process.
Ending Board members signaled support for addressing IT centralization and public-safety staffing needs but asked staff to provide greater detail on timing, salary impacts and operational deployment before final budget adoption.
