WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Wilmington City Council voted to adopt a $298 million balanced budget at its latest meeting that includes a property tax hike and fee hikes.
Public safety accounts for nearly half (46%) of the budget’s general fund expenditures. The budget also provides funding to begin a new five-year capital improvement plan, which will invest over $100 million in streets, bridges, sidewalks, trails, stormwater management, and other capital projects. Transportation and stormwater management projects comprise more than 80% of this improvement plan.
“Wilmington is an incredible place to live but the age of our city and our coastal setting also pose real challenges for our infrastructure. With this budget, City Council is making responsible investments in roads, stormwater management, and public safety so that today’s challenges don’t become tomorrow’s emergencies,” said Mayor Bill Saffo.
The budget includes a property tax rate of 42 cents per $100 valuation. This represents a 6.3% increase over FY24, half of which is devoted to new capital improvement projects.
Nearly half of the general fund supports police and fire operations, which include 278 sworn police officers and 222 uniformed fire personnel. The budget funds upgrades to the city’s investigative and forensic technology and law enforcement camera infrastructure, which plays a vital role in addressing escalating situations and solving crimes.
Over $700,000 in competitive agency funding for Wilmington non-profit partnerships that support high-need human and social services. $2.3 million from the budget is meant to sustain and grow the city’s mix of affordable housing programming, including home ownership and home rehabilitation programs, and gap financing to leverage private sector investments in affordable housing.
There was some confusion over votes on the budget after discussion about a number of issues. Initially, Councilman Luke Waddell offered an alternative budget with various cuts in an attempt to not raise property taxes, but that alternative was voted down 5-2.
Part of the discussion involved removing funding for the Carolina Beach Road Streetscape project, but keeping part of that funding for a project involving South Front Street. That led Mayor Saffo to ask for a 15 minute recess for the city manager and staff to work out new calculations on the property tax rate increase after voting on approving the budget for the general fund. After the recess, a second vote on the general fund budget — including putting the property tax rate of 42 cents per $100 valuation — passed 4-3 with Luke Waddell, Salette Andrews, and David Joyner voting against the measure.
Joyner claimed the purchase of the Skyline Center last year — which he and Andrews did not vote on because they were elected in November — is a key driver of the property tax increase. He also noted that the city could not fully count on leasing out parts of the Skyline Center — and the sale of surplus property — in these budget discussions.
“We’re looking at potentially 8 figures in income of what should be coming in from the sale of those properties and the lease of those properties and it’s not factored into the budget because we don’t have expressed interests and contracts in hand and a firm figure to work with,” Joyner said.
The budget includes various fee adjustments including a 1% increase in the stormwater fee to support stormwater management costs. A $25 vehicle tax will provide $1.8 million to fund transportation and safety-related improvements. Councilman Kevin Spears argued against the vehicle tax, saying the city needs to be more transparent with its fees and that fee increases are regressive, hurting the poorest citizens the most. However, Spears accidentally voted for a measure that had the vehicle tax hike in it.
The new budget is set to become effective on July 1, the first day of the city’s fiscal year. You can view the entire budget here.
