Each month, at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday, the Highlands board of commissioners meets at the community building on 4th Street.
In March however, comes the granddaddy of town commissioner meetings.
The annual town board budget retreat serves as an opportunity for all department heads to come before the board and make budget requests. On Thursday, the board of commissioners took in those requests and listened to the justifications for the spending measures.
From new police radios, compatible with the county and state’s VIPER system, to a refurbishing of the belt system at the water treatment plant, there are plenty of needs to cover.
The longest list of potential budget items in 2020 came from public works director Lamar Nix, who outlined several paving projects that he would like to complete in the coming fiscal year. The paving efforts were of varying lengths and degrees of difficulty, but each would improve the roadway and make driving easier for the homeowners on those roads.
Nix’s presentation showed what sets Highlands apart from so many communities, not only regionally, but across the state.
When the NC Department of Transportation converted to the State Transportation Improvement Planning system in 2015 it created a data-driven model for road projects. The aim was to cut down on “pet projects” of state legislators and focus funding on projects that affect the most people.
The downside to the STIP model is that transportation projects in Highlands, Macon County and Western North Carolina as a whole are never going to reach the traffic count levels of say projects in Raleigh, Greensboro or Charlotte.
Thus local road paving often gets covered with Division 14 funds or local money, and many towns and counties don’t have the budget to complete such projects and road conditions suffer.
Due to a strong tax base, smart budgeting and board foresight, Highlands is able to maintain its roads better than other municipalities. Being a great place to live, a great place to work and a great place to visit starts with infrastructure and Highlands continues to be ahead of the curve.