Rocky Mount council reviews property tax options, consultant cuts and capital priorities to rebuild fund balance

City Manager Daniels told the Rocky Mount Committee of the Whole at a June budget workshop that staff prepared a set of property-tax and spending options to replenish the city’s general fund and restore its fund-balance policy.

Daniels said staff estimated a one-penny property tax increase would generate about $600,000 in additional general‑fund revenue. He described sliding options — from 1¢ to 5¢ — and what each increment could fund, including park renovations, a city housing grant program, a cost‑of‑living adjustment (COLA) and rebuilding unassigned fund balance. “With 1p on the current rate, we would be able to do 1 of the following projects,” Daniels said, noting the proposals are illustrative and “we are not married to any particular option.”

Why it matters: council members told staff they want specific estimates and trade‑offs before deciding whether to raise taxes, cut spending or do both. Council members repeatedly returned to the city’s recent large capital and financing decisions — including a multi‑million dollar land purchase and a sizable borrowing for a project that has increased debt service — and to the scale of transfers from enterprise funds to the general fund.

Daniels and finance staff described the city’s recent fund‑balance trajectory. The FY24 audit carried an approximate unassigned…