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Board of Commissioners — Regular Meeting

Wake County · Board of Commissioners
Monday, June 1, 2026 at 5:00 pm · Wake County Justice Center

Regular meeting Appointments and personnelBudget and appropriationsFire and EMSGrants and outside fundingPolice and public safetyLGBTQ+ policyParks and recreationCivil rights and nondiscriminationContracts and procurementHealth and human servicesHousing and affordabilityPublic facilitiesSubdivision and site plansTax rate and revaluationTransit

Agenda document Minutes Meeting page Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Approved 2.Approval of the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of April 20, 2026 accepted · Pass · Commissioner Thomas moved, seconded by Commissioner Waters, to the Approval of the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of April 20, 2026. The motion carried by the fo…

Another 9 items passed on the consent agenda, which is a single motion covering routine business. See the list.

Read from the agenda's recorded outcomes. Where the board published minutes, those are the record — this is a pointer to them.

What's on this agenda

The headline item is adoption of Wake County's Fiscal Year 2027 operating budgets, capital improvement projects, special revenue projects, and position authorization ordinances. The consent agenda carries several notable actions: an affordable housing loan for the Copernica Properties rental housing development in Raleigh, acceptance of Walmart Foundation grant funding for the Sheriff's Office, a stadium naming rights partner decision, appropriation of excess ARPA revenue for one-time uses, and approval of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau's FY27 budget. The board also proclaims June as LGBT+ Pride Month.

The rest of the meeting is routine board business: a long list of appointments to advisory boards and commissions (including the Fire Commission, Library Commission, Energy Advisory Commission, and several Raleigh and regional boards), reports, and a closed session.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

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

Commissioners adopted the county's Fiscal Year 2027 budget with a two-cent property tax increase, about $90 more a year for an average home. They pulled $35 million from reserves to close a revenue gap. Board members blamed slower revenue growth, more than 750 pending property-tax revaluation appeals, and an apartment-tax exemption known as the Blue Ridge Housing loophole. An amendment adds $110,000 for Cooperative Extension's early-care and farmers-market SNAP programs, paid for by cutting Non-Departmental spending, setting the adopted General Fund budget at $2,282,021,000. The board first voted unanimously to recuse Vice-Chair Safiyah Jackson from the Wake County Smart Start portion of the vote; she works for the NC Partnership for Children, which oversees that network.

The board approved its agenda, the April 20 minutes and the consent agenda 7-0 each. Consent items included an affordable housing loan for the Copernica Properties rental development in Raleigh and a Walmart Foundation grant for the Sheriff's Office. The board also approved a stadium naming rights partner and the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau's FY 2027 budget. Commissioner Adamson read a proclamation marking June as LGBT+ Pride Month, and Laura Meyers of Equality North Carolina thanked the board. Congressman Wiley Nichols used public comment to raise the county's $600,000 in District Attorney's office funding. Commissioners filled most advisory-board vacancies but left an ETJ seat open on the Raleigh Design Review Commission, then closed with a personnel matter behind closed doors and took no action.

How the votes went

The board approved its agenda, the April 20 minutes and the consent agenda by 7-0 votes, with all seven commissioners present and voting aye each time. It first voted unanimously to recuse Vice-Chair Safiyah Jackson from the Wake County Smart Start portion of the FY 2027 budget, then adopted the budget ordinances as amended; the minutes record no roll-call tally for that final adoption vote.

From the published minutes.

Who spoke

2 members of the public spoke.

  1. Laura Meyers, deputy executive director of Equality North Carolina, on the LGBT+ Pride Month proclamation
  2. Congressman Wiley Nichols, during general public comment, on District Attorney's office funding

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

Speaking at this meeting

Public comment runs 5:30 to 6 p.m. at the first regular meeting of the month and 2:30 to 3 p.m. at the second. Speakers get three minutes. Written comments can be submitted online between 9 a.m. and noon on the day of a regular meeting.

Wake County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Jump to an item (40 on this agenda)
  1. Meeting Called to Order: Chair Don Mial
  2. Pledge of Allegiance
  3. Invocation: Commissioner Cheryl Stallings
  4. Items of Business
  5. 1.Approval of Agenda
  6. 2.Approval of the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of April 20, 2026
  7. 3.LGBT+ Pride Month Proclamation
  8. Consent Agenda
  9. 4.Accept and Appropriate Walmart Foundation Community Grant Program Fun…
  10. 5.Approval of Affordable Housing Loan for the Copernica Properties, LLC…
  11. 6.Designation of Map and Plat Review Officers for the Town of Fuquay-Va…
  12. 7.Stadium Naming Rights Partner
  13. 8.Appropriate Excess ARPA Revenues for Future One-Time Uses
  14. 9.FY 26 Grants and Donations Budget Adjustments
  15. 10.Approval of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau's FY 2…
  16. 11.Tax Committee Recommendations for Gross Receipts Penalty, Refund Requ…
  17. General Public Comments
  18. 12.General Public Comments
  19. Regular Agenda
  20. 13.Adopt Fiscal Year 2027 Operating Budgets, Capital Improvement Project…
  21. Appointments
  22. 14.Agricultural Advisory Board
  23. 15.Capital Area Workforce Development
  24. 16.City of Raleigh Design Review Commission
  25. 17.City of Raleigh Planning Commission
  26. 18.Durham-Wake Counties Research and Production Service District Advisor…
  27. 19.Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team
  28. 20.Energy Advisory Commission
  29. 21.Fire Commission
  30. 22.Juvenile Crime Prevention Council
  31. 23.Library Commission
  32. 24.Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee
  33. 25.Wake Technical Community College
  34. 26.Wendell Planning and Zoning Board
  35. 27.Upcoming Vacancies for July 2026
  36. Other Business
  37. 28.Reports from Advisory and Regional Boards
  38. 29.Other Reports from Commissioners
  39. Closed Session
  40. Adjourn

Agenda items (40)

Appointment · 15Consent agenda · 9Procedural · 7Other · 2Staff or committee report · 2Minutes approval · 1Proclamation or recognition · 1Ordinance · 1Discussion item · 1Closed session · 1
  1. Meeting Called to Order: Chair Don Mial
    Other
  2. Pledge of Allegiance
    Procedural
  3. Invocation: Commissioner Cheryl Stallings
    Procedural
  4. Items of Business
    Procedural Fire and EMS
  5. 1. Approval of Agenda
    Procedural Fire and EMS
    accepted · Pass · Commissioner Stallings moved, seconded by Commissioner Waters, to the Approval of Agenda. The motion carried by the following vote:
  6. 2. Approval of the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of April 20, 2026
    Minutes approval Fire and EMS
    accepted · Pass · Commissioner Thomas moved, seconded by Commissioner Waters, to the Approval of the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of April 20, 2026. The motion carried by the following vote:
  7. 3. LGBT+ Pride Month Proclamation
    Proclamation or recognition Civil rights and nondiscriminationFire and EMSLGBTQ+ policy
    Commissioner Adamson read a proclamation marking June as LGBT+ Pride Month. Laura Meyers, deputy executive director of Equality North Carolina, thanked the board for the recognition.
  1. General Public Comments
    Procedural
  2. 12. General Public Comments
    Procedural
    Congressman Wiley Nichols spoke about $600,000 in funding for the District Attorney's office.
  3. Regular Agenda
    Other
  4. 13. Adopt Fiscal Year 2027 Operating Budgets, Capital Improvement Projects, Special Revenue Projects, and Position Authorization Ordinances
    Ordinance Budget and appropriations
    The board's annual adoption of the FY27 operating budgets, capital improvement and special revenue project budgets, and position authorization ordinances.
  5. Appointments
    Appointment Appointments and personnel
  6. 14. Agricultural Advisory Board
    Appointment Appointments and personnel
    The board reappointed six members to the Agricultural Advisory Board: Eric Regensburger, Talmage Brown, Joanie Bowden, William Upchurch, David Canady and Patrick Johnson.
  7. 15. Capital Area Workforce Development
    Appointment Appointments and personnel
    The board reappointed eight members to Capital Area Workforce Development (Paul Kane, Kenneth McCormick, Mark Bertoncino, Shawnice Meador, John Blizzard, Kenneth Angeli, Melissa Short and Rodney Carson) and noted three term completions: Courtney Holcomb, Glenda Underwood and Jill Straight.
  8. 16. City of Raleigh Design Review Commission
    Appointment Appointments and personnel
    The board noted an unfilled ETJ vacancy on the City of Raleigh Design Review Commission, which the county is responsible for filling.
  9. 17. City of Raleigh Planning Commission
    Appointment Appointments and personnel
    The board noted Roberta Fox's term completion on the City of Raleigh Planning Commission's ETJ seat, with Thomas McCallister recommended by the City of Raleigh as the ETJ representative.
  10. 18. Durham-Wake Counties Research and Production Service District Advisory Committee
    Appointment Appointments and personnel
    The board reappointed three members to the Durham-Wake Counties Research and Production Service District Advisory Committee: Randi Saulles, Gina Anderson and Sarah Gaskill.
  11. 19. Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team
    Appointment Appointments and personnel
    The board reappointed three members to the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team: Dawn Cornwell, Michele Lesniak and Barry Bryant.
  12. 20. Energy Advisory Commission
    Appointment Appointments and personnel
    The board noted an unfilled vacancy on the Energy Advisory Commission.
  13. 21. Fire Commission
    Appointment Appointments and personnel
    The board reappointed Conelle Farrar as the subject-matter-expert representative on the Fire Commission and noted Christopher Pierce's term completion as the not-for-profit representative.
  14. 22. Juvenile Crime Prevention Council
    Appointment Appointments and personnelParks and recreationPolice and public safety
    The board noted two vacancies on the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, with Robert Sears recommended to fill the Parks and Recreation designee seat.
  15. 23. Library Commission
    Appointment Appointments and personnel
    The board noted Jessica Peacock's resignation from the Library Commission's member-at-large seat.
  16. 24. Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee
    Appointment Appointments and personnelParks and recreation
    The board noted a District 5 vacancy on the Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee, with Rashawn King recommended by Commissioner Waters to fill it.
  17. 25. Wake Technical Community College
    Appointment Appointments and personnel
    The board reappointed Saundra Wall Williams to the Wake Technical Community College board.
  18. 26. Wendell Planning and Zoning Board
    Appointment Appointments and personnel
    The board noted two ETJ term completions on the Wendell Planning and Zoning Board: Tevis High and Greg Hopkins Jr.
  19. 27. Upcoming Vacancies for July 2026
    Appointment Appointments and personnelHealth and human services
    The board previewed vacancies to be filled July 6, 2026 across 11 boards and committees, including two seats each on the Health and Human Services Board and the Wendell Planning and Zoning Board's ETJ seats.
  20. Other Business
    Discussion item
  21. 28. Reports from Advisory and Regional Boards
    Staff or committee report LGBTQ+ policyTransit
    Commissioner Stallings reported Kathleen Herndon Lee will receive the Frank Eagles Award for county service. Commissioner Evans reported CAMPO and GoTriangle are considering a $147 million FY 2027 Wake Transit Work Plan. Other commissioners reported on WakeEd Partnership, Pride Month library programming and a completed Passage Home workforce cohort.
  22. 29. Other Reports from Commissioners
    Staff or committee report Police and public safety
    Commissioners gave individual reports on community events they attended in May. County Manager Ellis commented on a shooting on Wake County property.
  23. Closed Session
    Closed session
    The board went into closed session to discuss a public employee's performance under NCGS 143-318.11(a)(6). It took no action.
  24. Adjourn
    Procedural

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