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City manager proposes 5.75'cent tax increase to fund living-wage plan, public-safety and capital projects
Summary
City Manager Becky Hawk presented a $350.3 million FY27 recommended budget and proposed a 5.75'cent per $100 property tax increase — 5.34'cents for general services (mostly public safety) and 0.41'cents for debt service — to fund a citywide living-wage initiative, Wave transit support and capital projects; council scheduled follow-up work sessions and asked for additional detail on assumptions and appeals.
City Manager Becky Hawk told the Wilmington City Council on May 4 that her recommended FY27 budget totals $350,328,326 and includes a proposed property tax increase of 5.75'cents per $100 of assessed value to balance the plan.
"When you break that down, 3.93'cents of that increase — 73% of the total — will go directly to supporting public safety initiatives," Hawk said. She told council that 5.34'cents of the increase would be dedicated to general services and 0.41'cents would fund debt service for capital projects.
Hawk framed the budget around six priorities, including a living-wage initiative, public safety investments, support for Wave transit, and a two-year capital improvements program (CIP). She said the living-wage proposal would move the minimum full-time city wage to 60% of area median income (AMI), equivalent to $45,531 annually for a single-person household, and estimated the FY27 recurring cost at about $16.7 million, of which $14.2 million would come from the general fund.
On revenue assumptions, Hawk described an expected 0.79% increase in total property valuation and higher-than-projected appeal losses in New Hanover County that reduced revenue growth. "When they projected the increases, they built in an anticipated appeal loss of 3.5%, and what we are seeing is an actual appeal loss of about 5.1%," she said, noting that unexpected appeal outcomes have eroded some valuation gains.
Council members pressed staff for details. Councilmember Joiner asked whether the tax examples shown applied only to the city portion of property taxes; Hawk confirmed the slides represented the Wilmington portion only and said the presentation would be clarified for public materials. Councilmember Santaguida asked about the living-wage implementation timeline and vacancy counts; Hawk said the recommended budget assumes full implementation in FY27 and estimated roughly 40 true vacancies in the police department and nine vacancies in fire.
Hawk also defended several investments in the proposal: $378,000 to outfit the entire fire department with lighter, PFAS-free turnout gear; confidential, locally delivered mental-health counseling for public-safety staff; and $31 million expected to be generated by the 0.41'cent CIP increase to advance projects such as Pine Grove Bridge and the Kerr Avenue Trail.
Hawk described cost pressures including a projected $3.9 million increase in health-insurance costs and a $736,000 mandated increase to the state retirement contribution. She said the recommended budget eliminates 29 positions through reorganization without layoffs and proposes targeted new staffing including an IT security officer and additional recreation staff.
Hawk said the budget process will continue with work sessions on May 15 and May 29, a public hearing on May 19 and budget adoption scheduled for June 2 and June 16; she reminded council the FY27 budget must be adopted by June 30.
The council asked staff to provide historical projection comparisons, redlined materials where requested, vacancy and attrition details for public-safety departments, and more clarity on how the city's portion of taxes interacts with county rates. Hawk agreed to provide the requested materials ahead of upcoming meetings.
