By: Erin Smith
The Bladenboro Town Board met on Monday night and received a copy of the proposed FY 2016-17 budget.
Town Clerk Melanie Hester told the board that the there will be no increase in the town’s ad valorem tax rate of $0.64 per $100 of valuation.
She also told the board that the town rebid the garbage rates with Waste Management and got a better rate. Hester said that the budget does carry an increase in the water and sewer rates of two percent but that customer’s will see a decrease of about $2 in their garbage collection fees.
The budget also calls for a one percent salary increase for town employees.
The board scheduled a budget a work session for Tuesday, May 17, at 7 p.m. at the Bladenboro Town Hall.
In other business:
*Jan Hester of the Lumber River Council of Government addressed the board regarding a resolution for a drinking water system asset management plan grant and a wastewater system assert management plan grant. 
Both plans required the town board to adopt resolutions and submit them by June in support of the grant applications.
Hester told the board that three main problems that stood out are the age of the systems and the town is not collecting for the all of the water it is pumping due to losses within the system.
The grant application, if funded, would see maps of the town’s water and wastewater infrastructure created and would place the town in a position to better manage these systems.
*The board also met in a closed session for about one hour for a personnel matter.
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