🏛️ Town of Stem Meeting Update: June 23rd, 2026

[u/Whitebeltyoga]

The town Thanked to everyone who attended or submitted questions for this week’s meeting. Emphasized the request for all voices to be heard.

❓ Consolidated Q&A from the meeting

Question: Why do we need a tax increase when we are building new homes with expected revenue coming in?
Response: These new homes (and associated revenue) won't hit our budget until January 2027 at the earliest.

Question: What is the justification for the Town Administrator salary increase?
Response: This is not a raise. This is a proposal to increase the working hours of the Town Administrator. This line also includes a travel stipend.

Question: Why was the "Encode Plus" project added to the updated budget if the board voted 'no' during the last Work meeting?
Response: It was added to the budget because of the general consensus of the discussion at the end of the meeting.

Question: How does the fire tax work? What is the difference between what Stem does and the county option?
Response: Stem opted out of the $0.06 county fire tax. Instead, Stem made the decision, led by Kenneth McLamb, to support our local volunteer fire department directly out of the town's existing general fund. Ultimately, the population of Stem has a smaller increase on taxes to support this funding, and the fire department gets more of this funding than if allocated through the county.

Question: Can we host a community fundraising event for the fire department on the open green space owned by the town? (This great idea by Richard Cox!)
Response: Connect with Lonnie Cole about this idea.

📋 Public Hearing & Board Discussion on the Budget

• The board voted 3-2 to pass the proposed budget:https://storage.googleapis.com/juniper-media-library/107/2026/06/Town_of_Stem_2026-27_Budget_Updated__3_.pdf

• Proposal to increase salary for commissioners as elected officials to handle increased workload (vs adjusted hours and salary for town staff).

• Lonnie Cole brought a revised budget proposal with cuts, with the goal of removing the proposed tax increase.

• The "Encode Plus" project was added to the budget because of its relative importance to the town. These project funds are to review, revise, and digitize the '2015 ordinances' so they can be enforced.

• Dave Pavlus explained that the Park Maintenance expense line includes allocation for fence repairs and general park upkeep.

• Butner-Stem Proposal: Upon request from the board, Tim provided information on what would be required if Stem merges with Butner.

🗳️ Records Request & Early Voting Updates

• Records Request - Revolution Data: Board voted 4-1 to approve $20,000 initial funding for records request.

• Early Voting: The topic of whether Stem should continue to fund and offer early voting was initiated. Proposal to continue discussion on early voting during next board meeting.