Gibsonville town manager Ben Baxley is recommending a $19.1 million budget – with no change in the existing municipal property tax rate of 53 cents per $100 of valuation – for the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1.
Gibsonville’s total budget for 2026-27 would increase by $1.8 million (10.6 percent) from the town’s current budget of $17.2 million for the fiscal year that ends June 30.
Though the manager isn’t recommending an increase in the property tax rate, Baxley is a proposing a 5 percent increase across-the-board in the town’s water and sewer rates.
If adopted, water bills for customers inside the town limits would increase by 34 cents per month, from $6.84 to $7.18 per 1,000 gallons. Sewer bills for in-town customers would increase by 75 cents per month, from $14.96 to $15.71 per 1,000 gallons.
Out-of-town customers who are charged double would also see their water rates go up by 68 cents per month, from $14.96 to $15.71 per 1,000 gallons. Monthly sewer bills for out-of-town customers would increase by $1.50 per month, from $29.92 to $31.42 per 1,000 gallons, under Baxley’s recommended budget.
The additional revenue generated by increasing the town’s water and sewer rates would be used to cover a 5 percent increase in charges for water purchased from (and wastewater treated by) the city of Burlington, based on the recommended budget that Baxley presented to Gibsonville aldermen Monday night.
Gibsonville’s sanitation fees would remain unchanged from the current rate of $24 per month, per cart, based on the town manager’s recommended fee schedule for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
Baxley recommends three new positions, 2 percent raises, and stipend increases for mayor and aldermen
The town manager is proposing to hire three new full-time employees during the upcoming fiscal year, at a cost of $277,332, which includes salaries and benefits. The proposed new positions include: one full-time police officer ($98,780, excluding the cost for a patrol vehicle); and two new full-time firefighters ($89,276 each for salaries and benefits).
The manager also proposes giving all existing town employees two percent raises across-the-board, which he estimates will cost $158,784, including the impact on salaries, plus state and federal withholding and 401K retirement benefits. Baxley is recommending merit raises of up to 3 percent for an unspecified number of employees, which he estimates will cost $141,605.
Like his counterparts in other Alamance County municipalities, Gibsonville’s town manager said this week that the mandatory employer contribution to employee health insurance premiums is projected increase by 6 percent, which he estimates will cost Gibsonville an additional $53,000 during the upcoming fiscal year.
An increase in the mandatory employer contribution to the Local Government Employee Retirement Systems will cost another $49,984 to the town’s personnel expenses in 2026-27, based on the budget that Baxley presented to the aldermen Monday night.
Additionally, Baxley is also proposing to increase the annual stipends for Gibsonville’s mayor, mayor pro tem, and four aldermen, which the board had instructed him to include, according to the manager’s budget message.
The mayor (currently Bryant Crisp) would receive an annual raise of $1,900, from $4,100 to $6,000 per year. The mayor pro tem (currently Mark Shepherd) would receive a raise of $1,800, from $3,700 to $5,500per year. The stipend for the four aldermen would increase by $1,600, from $3,400 to $5,000 each per year, under the manager’s proposed budget for 2026-27.
Gibsonville’s aldermen last voted to give themselves a raise in early 2022, which then-mayor Lenny Williams had said was the first time in 14 years that the stipend for Gibsonville’s elected officials had been increased.
In his budget message, Baxley noted that the proposed increase in “governing board salaries” would bring Gibsonville in line with similarly-sized municipalities across the state.
Meanwhile, the manager pointed to approximately $17.5 million for six capital projects that are nearing the finish line. Gibsonville’s capital projects include:
- A new police headquarters, budgeted at $2 million for design and construction in August 2024;
- A public library project ($450,000 allocated for the initial design work and legal services in December 2023);
- A N.C. Highway 61 Waterline Connector project ($6.4 million allocated for construction, consulting services, easement acquisition, and other legal expenses in February 2026);
- A water tank project ($6 million allocated for construction, consulting services, easement acquisition, and other legal expenses in June 2025);
- Capital projects and equipment for the fire department ($2.5 million allocated in April 2024);
- A “Eugene Street Property” project. (The aldermen had initially allocated $577,000 to install fencing around town-owned property along Eugene Street that will likely be used for parking in the future, based on an amendment to the town’s capital project ordinance and a transfer of $20,000 from the general fund to the budget for the project in September 2025.)
Vehicles and equipment
Baxley also recommends purchasing several new vehicles during the upcoming fiscal year, including: three replacement vehicles and one new patrol vehicle for the police department (estimated at a total of $300,000); a replacement dump truck for the public works department (estimated at $102,000); remaining equipment for the fire department’s new ladder truck ($40,000); and two new snowplows ($25,000 total).
Other significant equipment purchases that the manager is proposing to fund in both the general fund and water/sewer fund include: $400,000 to replace playground equipment at Moricle Park; $110,000 to purchase new water meters; and $20,000 to cover the cost for the first year for new registration software for the parks and recreation department, based on the budget presentation that the aldermen heard Monday night.
Gibsonville’s board of aldermen is currently scheduled to hold a public hearing on the proposed budget on June 1. If the town’s budget isn’t adopted that evening, it could be adopted at the board’s meeting on June 15, based on the budget calendar that Baxley has developed.
