At its June 1 monthly meeting, the Mebane City Council formally adopted its fiscal year 2026-27 budget. In a contested 4-1 vote, town leaders approved a plan that will not raise city taxes over the next fiscal year, and utilizes funds from the city’s existing fund balance – essentially the town’s savings account – to cover new items recommended by City Manager Richard White, including cost of living and insurance premium increases for town staff, pay raises for members of the City Council, capital outlay projects for city departments, and additional employees.
City Manager White proposed a two-cent tax increase, from 0.37 to 0.39 cents per $100 dollars of assessed property value, to help the town cover the new employee costs, as well as provide funds for a new Mebane Fire Department Station at Trollingwood Hawfields Road, near the near Buc’ee’s that is coming to the area, a new tiller truck for the Mebane Fire Department, and a shed for the Mebane Public Works Department. White projected the average Mebanite’s tax bill to rise from $1,464 to $1,543 annually with a two-cent increase. The additional revenue generated by a .02 tax increase on local property taxes would generate just over $1.1 million for the city.
“I’m presenting an overview of the fiscal year 2026-27 budget based on the input that staff received from your May 13 work session,” White explained. “I have recommended a budget of total expenses of $46.5 million, our utility fund expenditures of $18 million, and our occupancy tax special revenue fund at $327,400 for total expenditures of $65 million.”…