ROCKINGHAM — Property taxes and sanitation fees in the county seat will remain the same for the upcoming fiscal year — but the water is rising.
According to the proposed 2025-2026 budget, water and sewer rates will be increasing 7.5% “across the board” in the city of Rockingham.
The proposed increase, according to City Manager Monty Crump, is due to “unexpected operational changes by several industries” — which led to a $750,000 loss in revenue — combined with an increase in operating costs for the city.
Crump said the city had to dip into reserved retained earnings to cover the loss, but added that option is “not sustainable” to continue. The fee increase, he said, will bring in $475,000 and only cover half of the loss. An additional 5-7.5% hike will be needed the next fiscal year.
The increase of $1.10 per month on residential water bills will be the first in five years, Crump said.
The property tax rate is set to stay at $.0.55 per $100 of valuation, the amount to which it was lowered last year. The city was able to maintain a rate of $0.48 for 15 years prior to a decision in 2020 by the Richmond County Board of Commissioners to shift the method of sales tax distribution.
The lowest rate in the past four decades was $0.47 in the 1988-89 fiscal year.
Property taxes account for 38% of the city’s revenues, followed by sales taxes and “other revenue” at 19% each.
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Crump notes in the proposed budget that an increase in sanitation fees is generally used to make that department self-sufficient. However, this year’s rate will remain the same due to the water and sewer increase.
This budget, Crump said, “has been one of the more challenging in a while.”
In addition to the water woes, the city also had to deal with a 15% increase in insurance rates by moving to Blue Cross Blue Shield. However, Crump noted that initial renewal rates at 65% “would have busted the budget.”
The insurance change was made after the N.C. League of Municipalities’ Health Benefits Trust announced earlier this year that it would “wind down its operations” on June 30.
Crump lists an uncertain economic outlook — effects of tariffs, national monetary and fiscal policy, inflation and “plummeting consumer confidence” — as other “troubling” challenges.
The proposed budget, available at the city’s website, calls for a 2% cost-of-living adjustment for all 133 full-time employees.
Public safety accounts for nearly half of the city’s expenditures, with the police department at 32% and the fire department at 13%.
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The Rockingham Police Department is budgeted at $4,028,000, which includes 34 officers and two office assistants, standard operating costs, and: $92,000 for patrol vehicles; $22,000 for vehicle equipment; $16,000 for an Axon interview room; and $6,000 for TCMA radio programming.
The Rockingham Fire Department’s $1.629 million budget request funds 16 full-time and 20 part-time positions and includes: $4,000 to replace VIPER radios; $39,000 to replace air packs; and $50,000 for turnout gear.
Other departmental capital outlay expenditures include:
Finance - $15,625 for accounting software
Planning and Inspections - $39,000 for a code enforcement truck; $7,000 for a large format printer
Buildings - $28,000 for roof repair and painting of storage buildings; $24,000 for a walker mower; $5,700 for mulch at the Hitchcock Creek playground; $3,000 each to rekey doors at police station and LED panel lights; $5,000 total for plants and mulch in downtown plant beds
Maintenance - $7,000 for oil pumps
Streets - $171,000 for a street sweeper; $16,000 for a zero-turn mower; and $5,200 for a Tommy gate
Sanitation - $250,000 for a rear-load garbage truck; $135,000 for a Freightliner dump; $40,000 for a half-ton pick-up; $18,500 for a Titan leaf box
Recreation - $30,000 for field equipment
The Rockingham City Council is slated to vote on the budget at Tuesday’s meeting, which starts at 6:30 p.m.
