Smithfield holds public hearing on FY2026 budget; council will defer adoption to June

The Smithfield Town Council held a public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget and did not take action, deferring final adoption to the council's June meeting.

The hearing matters because the proposal would change user rates for water and sewer, and fund a roughly $2 million parks and recreation maintenance facility from town cash reserves rather than borrowing.

Michael, a town staff member, told the council that "we do not recommend any tax rate increases." He said the only increases in the draft budget are for water and sewer rates, explaining that the water and sewer changes "were based off the recommendation of a water rate study we had done for us." Michael said the town is proposing a new water rate of $8.50 per 1,000 gallons and a new sewer rate of $6 per 1,000 gallons to support operations, maintenance and capital work on aging infrastructure.

Council members and staff discussed the largest capital item in the draft budget: a parks and…