Wake Forest manager presents FY26 budget with no tax increase; personnel and retirement costs highlighted

Town Manager Kip Padgett presented the proposed FY2025–26 budget to the Board of Commissioners, saying the recommendation includes no tax‑rate increase and outlines staffing and capital priorities.

Padgett highlighted key items in the proposal: the recommended property tax rate would remain at $0.42 per $100 of assessed value; residential solid waste service would increase by $1 per month to $24; the municipal service district tax rate would remain at $0.14 and the vehicle fee would remain at $0.30. An electric rate increase of 3% is included in the proposal.

Padgett said the budget is balanced and that personnel costs are the largest share of operating expenditures. The recommendation includes 18 new full‑time positions, 13 of which would be funded from the general fund; among those the town expects to absorb five positions transferring with the Wake Forest Center for Active Aging on July 1.

Padgett highlighted growing retirement contributions as a budget driver. He said the employer retirement contribution rate is increasing (general and fire employees’ contribution figures were described rising to 14.35% in the presentation) and attributed some pressure to lower investment returns at the state level; the state treasurer has proposed moving to committee oversight of investments and a slightly less conservative investment posture to seek higher returns.

Other items in Padgett’s overview included capital outlay plans (about $9.76 million across funds as listed in the budget memo), debt service forecasts tied to future public safety building construction (fire station no. 6) and appropriations from fund balance for one‑time capital items. Padgett said a public hearing on the budget would be held at the board’s May 20 meeting and that staff expect to bring the budget for adoption at the June 17 meeting to meet statutory timelines.

Padgett pointed out near‑term operational impacts that will follow construction of fire station no. 6, including the need to staff the station at opening with roughly 15 firefighters (an operational cost Padgett estimated will exceed $1 million annually when staffed). He also noted that the town has ordered fire apparatus in prior years while accounting for multi‑year delivery timelines.

Padgett thanked department directors and finance staff for preparing the proposal and urged commissioners to read the budget memo, which outlines priorities and proposed allocations in greater detail.