Rocky Mount residents press council for transparency and cuts during FY2026–27 budget hearing

Rocky Mount residents packed the June 9 City Council meeting to press elected officials for clearer accounting and to oppose steep local tax and utility increases as the council opened a public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2026–27 budget.

The hearing drew repeated calls for transparency about “missing” funds and the city's fiscal trajectory. "Why didn't someone on this council stop this before you blew through $80 million of our money?" said Earl Jones, a Ward 6 resident and retired NCDOT revenue manager, who told the council he was still seeking answers about a double utility billing and said the financial setbacks amount to roughly $1,467 per resident.

Residents urged preservation of core services and programs. Veronica Jennings asked council members to stop cuts to Braswell Library and to end grant spending on downtown incentives and other programs for fiscal year 2027. "Braswell Library is a community hub," she said, urging the council to maintain its funding. Sharon Davis likewise pressed the council to pursue delinquent property owners and to explain tax-collection processes before imposing further burdens on property owners.

Several speakers recommended specific procedural steps and timelines. Susan Perry Cole, a member of a neighborhood-based community academy, said the city should resume an updated comprehensive plan — last adopted in 2003 — and referenced North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 160D that ties land-use authority to a reasonably maintained plan. "Given these realities, now more than ever, having a vision for growth is critical," she told the council.

Other commenters urged internal reforms: Tasha Aldridge asked the council to provide supporting documentation before major budget decisions and to clarify enterprise-fund charging practices, noting a reduction in administrative fees to enterprise funds that she described as a positive step. Multiple residents urged the council to consider employees' compensation and staffing needs as part of any budget adjustments.

Council members did not take final votes during the hearing. The mayor closed the public hearing after hearing from a large roster of speakers and said the council would continue work-session deliberations on the budget at a subsequent meeting. The city manager noted the full proposed budget is posted online at rockymountfinancialoutlook.com and that committee meetings have been recorded and made available to the public.

What happens next: The council recessed the committee work session earlier in June and said it will resume deliberations in a scheduled continuation; no final appropriation or tax increase was adopted during the June 9 meeting.