The town of Elon held a town council meeting Dec. 10 to discuss an audit of the town’s finances, a budget amendment for the town of Elon fire department and the approval of a downtown facilities policy. 


Town audit

Certified public accountant Becky Loy of Cobb Ezekiel Loy & CO, P.A. presented the council with the firm’s findings of the town’s financial audit. 

The audit has not been approved by the Local Government Commission of North Carolina and therefore has not been approved by the council. However, the audit showcased that the town’s net worth has increased by $8,735,029, a 30.9% increase from last fiscal year. 

According to Loy, the increase in net worth comes from the grants that the town has acquired and any assets that the town has, which includes taxes receivables, land and construction. 

The audit also concluded that there were no issues found regarding the town’s internal processes recording its finances and that the town remained compliant throughout the auditing process. 


Budget amendment for fire department

Elon Fire Chief Landon Massey presented the council with a financial breakdown of new equipment for the fire department with a new ladder expected to arrive in February. This includes replacing existing fire hoses, nozzles and rescue tools as well as potential travel and training which totals to $125,500. 

During Massey’s presentation to the council he said he wanted to order equipment as soon as possible in case prices increase due to tariffs heading into the Trump administration. Massey said this was because many of the materials he is requesting are made outside of the U.S. 

The council voted unanimously to approve the budget amendment. 


Downtown facilities policy

The council also voted unanimously to approve a new policy regarding the use of the downtown plaza on North Williamson Avenue and the green space on West Holt Avenue. 

The new downtown facilities policy states that the facilities are not to be rented or reserved by any individual, community, business or non-profit organization for fundraising, pop-up or public events. 

Downtown facilities can only be used by the town unless an individual, community, business or non-profit organization fills out a special event permit through the town of Elon. 


Looking ahead

The next town council work session will be held Dec. 16 and the first town council meeting of 2025 will be held Jan. 14.