Board of Commissioners Budget Workshop & Public Hearing

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

The board held a public hearing on the fiscal 2027 budget; four residents spoke, praising the town's work over the past year, level employee health insurance costs, sidewalk design money budgeted for Rainey Avenue and support for the Hillsborough Arts Council. Budget Director Emily Bradford then led the board through the recommended budget. The manager's plan held the property tax rate flat, but the board reached consensus to add a two-cent increase, citing a projected fund balance drawdown in fiscal 2029, rising debt service tied to the train station project, potential dam repair costs and a proposed constitutional amendment limiting property tax growth. Two cents adds about $100 a year to a $500,000 home.

The board also confirmed a $15 stormwater fee increase, the last of a three-year phase-in, and a 7.5% increase to water and sewer rates. It directed staff to review park shelter and athletic field rental fees, Board of Adjustment appeal fees, special event permit rush fees, several street permit fees and records reproduction fees before final adoption. On nonprofit funding, the board split $110,000 among seven groups, with the Food, Fitness and Opportunity Research Collaborative getting the largest share at $51,683 and TABLE receiving none. Assistant Town Manager Matt Efird told the board the town has recovered about $2 million so far from FEMA and insurance after Tropical Storm Chantal, with another $1.5 million expected. The minutes were unapproved at the time of reading.

How the votes went

Four recorded votes, each 4-0 with Commissioner Evelyn Lloyd absent: to approve the agenda (Darab/Ferguson), to open the public hearing (Hughes/Ferguson), to close the public hearing (Ferguson/English), and to adjourn (Hughes/Ferguson). The tax rate increase, the stormwater and utility rate changes, and the nonprofit allocations were reached by board consensus during the workshop, with no recorded vote.

From the published minutes.

Who spoke

4 members of the public spoke.

1. A resident praised the town's accomplishments over the past year.
2. A resident thanked the board for keeping employee health insurance costs the same for spouses and dependents despite rising costs.
3. A resident welcomed budgeting design work for a Rainey Avenue sidewalk, with construction planned for fiscal 2029.
4. A resident thanked the board for its financial support to the Hillsborough Arts Council.

Four residents spoke at the budget public hearing, each on a different piece of the plan: the past year's work, level employee health insurance costs, sidewalk design funding for Rainey Avenue, and support for the Hillsborough Arts Council.

Read from the records the government published after the meeting. Members of the public are private residents and are not named or indexed.