Easly City council adopts FY2025–26 budget, earmarks $399,855 from road fee fund for Canaan Land roundabout

At a special call meeting, the Easly City Council approved an ordinance adopting the city’s operating budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and amended the measure to set aside $399,855 from the city’s road fee fund for a proposed roundabout at the Canaan Land–Olive Street intersection.

Council and staff framed most of the roughly $10 million increase in the budget as one-time or nonrecurring spending drawn from built-up special funds. Ralph (city staff) told the meeting that hospitality and impact-fee accounts and certain unbudgeted expenditures explain much of the difference: “So all told, that's 9,300,000.0 in things that will not be recurring,” he said. He also said the proposed property-tax increase tied to the budget represents about $390,000.

The amendment that passed at the meeting would sequester $399,855 in the road fee fund (fund 13) toward the Canaan Land/Olive Street roundabout,…