MURFREESBORO – Sometimes change is good, but not when it leads to higher taxes.

The Murfreesboro Town Council approved the 2005-2006 fiscal year budget and ordinance here on Tuesday and fortunately for the citizens of Murfreesboro the ad valorum tax rate remained at .68 cents per $100 of valuation.

The total budget for FY 2005-2006 is $1.73 million.

The largest expenditures in the budget include $491,000 for the Murfreesboro Police Department, $343,000 for the Sanitation Department, $242,000 for town administration and $163,000 for town communications.

The water and sewer budget, separate from the town budget because it is self-generating, totaled $939,000.

Other items the town council approved included hiring the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments of Greensboro to serve as a consultant in choosing a new cable television provider. The town of Murfreesboro, like other towns in the region, will need a new cable television provider due to Adelphia Cable’s financial troubles. The town of Murfreesboro will pay a fee of $1,000 to the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments for their consulting services.

According to town administrator Molly Eubank, other towns have hired the Piedmont Triad Council to help provide the necessary expertise in the process of choosing a cable television provider.

In other business, the town council re-appointed three members to the Board of Trustees for the Elizabeth Sewell Parker Memorial Library.

The three members re-appointed include Mildred Gatling of Murfreesboro, Jeanette Hodges of Como and William Lawrence of Murfreesboro. Their terms as members of the Board of Trustees are for three years.

The public works superintendent, Gene Byrd, reported that the re-paving project of the ally behind the Napoli Pizza and Italian Restaurant is finished and several council members commented on how well the project looks.

The Murfreesboro Town Council will meet again on July 12.