Gibsonville town manager Ben Baxley is proposing a 6-cent increase (12 percent) in the municipal tax rate – the highest proposed increase of any local city or town – to fund his $17 million budget for the upcoming 2024-25 fiscal year, as well as a 25 percent increase in monthly water rates and a 7 percent increase in sewer rates. Spending would increase by 6.3 percent.
Meanwhile, Baxley has recommended increasing the municipal tax rate from 49 cents to 55 cents per $100 of valuation for the 2025-26 fiscal year that begins July 1.
If the 55-cent tax rate is adopted by Gibsonville’s aldermen, the municipal tax bill on property valued at $250,000 would increase by $150 per year; the tax bill for property valued at $500,000 would increase by $300; and the tax bill for property valued at $700,000 would increase by $420 per year, based on a breakdown of the impact of the 6-cent tax increase outlined in Baxley’s proposed budget.
The 6-cent increase in Gibsonville’s municipal property tax rate is estimated to generate an additional $709,686 in new annual revenue for the town. One penny on the property tax rate generates approximately $118,281 in revenue for the town.
Four cents of the increase will be used to pay for higher salaries that the board of aldermen approved the town’s 75 full-time employees earlier this year. Two cents of the increase would go toward the town’s annual operating expenses.
Overall property tax collections are expected to generate $5.9 million in revenue for the town during the upcoming fiscal year, based on the proposed budget that Baxley is scheduled to present to Gibsonville’s board of aldermen at 6:30 p.m. tonight.
The proposed $17 million budget for Gibsonville represents an increase of about $1 million (6.3 percent) from the $16 million budget that the town’s board of aldermen adopted for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
Aside from property tax collections, sales tax revenue accounts for $2.6 million in revenue for the town’s general fund for 2025-26 while sanitation fees, utility franchise and motor vehicle taxes round out the remainder needed to balance out the general fund portion of Baxley’s proposed budget.
General fund spending accounts for $12.5 million of the total budget for 2025-26, though the general fund would actually decrease by $17,197 (one-tenth of 1 percent) from the general fund budget for the the current year.
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Baxley has also recommended allocating $641,000 in fund balance (“rainy-day” savings) to purchase three vehicles and to offset part of the costs for a fourth vehicle, as well as equipment and financial accounting software.
The most significant big-ticket purchases within the general fund include a recommendation to purchase a new side-loader garbage truck ($392,000), which would be funded through loan proceeds, would be ordered later this year, and would arrive in 2026.
Baxley has proposed allocating fund balance within the general fund to cover: replacement of three police department vehicles ($231,000); replacement of playground equipment at Murrell Park ($200,000); replace a public works utility truck ($90,000); and upgrade financial software ($85,000).
Other recommended equipment purchases that would be funded through appropriated fund balance and/or debt service include a mowing tractor; “turn-out gear”; a walk-behind trencher; and a knuckle boom grapple truck.
Proposed budget includes 25 percent increase in water rate
The proposed $4.5 million budget for the water/sewer fund also represents a decrease of $174,222 (3.9 percent) from the $4.7 million water/sewer budget for the current fiscal year that ends June 30.
Baxley’s proposed budget outlines two tiers of recommended increases in the town’s water and sewer rates, based on whether customers are inside or outside the municipal limits. The town manager is proposing a 25 percent increase in monthly water rates and a 7 percent increase in sewer rates.
Monthly water bills for customers inside the town limits would increase by about $2, from $8.21 to $10.27 for the first 1,500 gallons of water per month. Sewer bills for customers inside Gibsonville’s municipal limits would also increase by about $2 per month, from $20.97 to $22.44 per month for the first 1,500 gallons.
Customers outside the town limits would see their monthly water bills increase by about $4, from $16.42 to $20.54 for the first 1,500 gallons per month. Sewer bills for customers outside the town limits would increase by about $3, from $41.94 to $44.88 for the first 1,500 gallons per month.
Baxley estimates that the town will receive approximately $4.1 in revenue from water and sewer sales in 2025-26. He is also recommending that the aldermen increase a number of other fees to sustain the water/sewer fund, such as: water meter, irrigation, and tap fees; sanitation fees, which would increase by $5, from $13 to $18 per month; and fees for additional recycling and garbage carts.
A portion of the additional revenue for 2025-26 would be used to fund what Baxley terms a “lead line replacement program.”
The manager is proposing adding two new positions, for a total of $130,283, including salaries and benefits: one new full-time firefighter is budgeted at $65,926 and one new full-time public works technician is budgeted at $64,357.
Baxley is also proposing a 1 percent increase across-the-board for town employees, which he estimates will cost $72,143 in additional pay and benefits. He is also proposing a separate 1.5 percent increase in merit pay for qualified employees, which he estimates will cost a total of $64,397 for the upcoming fiscal year.
Baxley’s budget includes mandatory increases in the employer’s matching contribution to the local government retirement system ($44,189); and a 17.7 percent increase in employer matching contributions to employee health insurance premiums ($134,250).
Though he has developed a long-range capital improvement plan through 2030, Baxley isn’t recommending any new capital projects during the upcoming fiscal year. The manager instead points to several ongoing capital projects that are nearing completion, including: a police headquarters project; public library project; water tank project; capital improvements and equipment for the fire department; and a waterline connector along N.C. Highway 61.
The board of aldermen is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the proposed budget for 2025-26 at 7:00 p.m. Monday, June 2, with adoption planned for that night or at the next meeting on June 16.
Read the newspaper’s editorial page opinion about the Gibsonville budget and its huge proposed property tax increase:
