How Tryon paid it all back
Tryon slowly paid back all those debts, with the last payment scheduled to occur next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The town set up agreements with its fire department to make payments annually for 10 years. It also set up agreements with the state to pay back Powell Bill funds over five years.
The unauthorized loans were paid back in 2002.
Mayor Peoples said although the town is in a much better financial position than it was 11 years ago, there is still much to do. He mentioned that Tryon has to figure out a way to renovate town hall and handle needs related to its aged water and sewer infrastructure. Tryon has applied for a grant to help replace a sewer line along East Howard Street that has resulted in multiple fines from the state for spills. Replacing the line has been estimated at more than $600,000, an amount officials have said the town simply does not have without help from a grant or a major increase in taxes.
Tryon has also experienced stagnant growth over the past decade and has struggled to figure out how to continue to provide services without raising taxes, Peoples said. The town approved a heavily contested involuntary annexation of Gillette Woods, Country Club Road and a section of Hwy. 108, but the annexation was rescinded by a new council in 2009.
The town’s three-year effort to involuntarily annex properties, which began with attempting to annex parts of Lynn, ended with a lawsuit by a local group called Citizens Against Forced Annexation (CAFA) and approximately $266,000 in costs to the town.
Editor’s note: The Town of Tryon does not have complete information regarding the town’s financial crisis uncovered in 2001. The data in this article is based on articles previously published in the Bulletin, primarily in 2001 and 2002.