Easly City presents $24.5 million general fund budget; council weighs pay increases and new public-safety positions

Easly City staff on a May work session presented the first reading of Ordinance 20 25 06, the proposed annual operating budget for fiscal year July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, and described the major revenue and expenditure items, staffing requests and capital projects.

Tom, the staff presenter, said the general fund in the proposed budget is about $24.5 million and highlighted a proposed 3-mill property tax increase; staff provided an example that the 3-mill increase would cost the owner of a $200,000 home roughly $24 per year. The hospitality tax and related funds total roughly $9 million and staff proposed using about $5,000,000 from the hospitality fund balance to expand fields and parking at JB Red Owens soccer fields.

The budget uses fund balance to balance operations. Staff said the proposal uses roughly $900,000 from fund balance; overall fund balance is about $9–10 million, and staff noted a recommended reserve…