What to spend money on and what to pass up? The Waynesville town board faces this question month in and month out. Seemingly small budget decisions can have some of the biggest impacts on residents’ daily lives.

Small towns all over the region are in the midst of municipal elections and a majority of them are contested races. New candidates and incumbents have plenty of issues to discuss as they try to manage shrinking budgets, improve aging infrastructure and position themselves for positive future growth. As early voting starts Thursday, Oct. 22, residents are urged to inform themselves about the issues and vote for the candidates they think will do what is in the best interest of the taxpayers.

Clyde may be a tiny little two-stoplight town, but at a recent candidate forum, the panel of contenders for seats in the upcoming town board elections was full of ideas on how to grow the town while maintaining its close-knit heritage.

The four candidates vying for two seats on the Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen can all agree on one point — the town is in much better shape than it was two years ago. 

The town of Canton elected a whole new board two years ago when all four aldermen decided not to run for another term.

Candidates running for the Waynesville town board can’t seem to talk about their campaign platforms without first saying how much they love Waynesville, and, for good measure, repeating it often. Sometimes very often.

Waynesville Mayor Gavin Brown has the public endorsement of six out of the seven alderman candidates running for the town board this fall.

Candidates for the Waynesville town board faced off in a forum last week before a packed crowd in the Haywood County historic courtroom.