Does Carrboro Town Staff and Town Council Need More Money?

GOVERNMENT

CARRBORO- Does it matter if Carrboro’s municipal staff can’t afford to live in Carrboro?

The town’s budget for fiscal year 2026 includes a 5 % across-the-board raise for all city staff and city officials. At the June 3 meeting, before voting to approve the budget, Carrboro Town Council members debated whether the pay increase was justifiable or necessary.

Council Member Danny Nowell stated that increasing staff salaries would deter employees from leaving for municipalities with larger budgets, such as Raleigh.

“Very few of our staff members can afford to live here,” Nowell said. “It’s been a source of strength for us.”

“They’re not working here for the money, they’re working here for who we are and what we stand for,” replied Council member Randee Haven-O’Donnell, adding that Carrboro couldn’t compete with Raleigh or Orange County on salary. “We do not have the size, we do not have the commercial dollars, we do not have the revenue.” Haven-O’Donnell proposed an increase of no more than 3.5%, and no raise for the council.

Nowell said the $12,024 pre-tax annual salary the members currently receive meant “we can only have privileged people do this job, or those willing to make a sacrifice.” He said the savings from deleting a 5% increase would be insignificant, plus he disliked decoupling council’s salary from other city employees.

Councilor Jason Merrill said he supported the budget as written, given Town Manager Patrice Toney and the staff had put in extensive thought and received plenty of feedback from the council. On the other hand, in his opinion, a 5% increase wouldn’t make that much difference to any of the council members and dropping it would show support for Carrboro residents tightening their belts. “If we get the raise I will donate it to the cause of my choice.”

Budget details

The town’s budget ordinance projects spending $36.6 million from the general fund for expenses including: general government ($9.3 million); planning and transportation ($4.7 million); public works ($5.3 million); recreation and parks ($2.3 million); police and fire services ($9.6 million); and debt service ($1.5 million) among other items. Anticipated general fund revenues include $19.5 million in property taxes and $7.2 million in sales tax. The affordable housing fund gets $770,000 while capital projects have been budgeted at $21.3 million.

Carrboro’s list of capital projects includes: $1.2 million for the South Greensboro Street sidewalk; $1.1 million for an Estes Drive bicycle/pedestrian path; $200,000 to develop a Weaver Street pedestrian-only zone; $15 million to renovate Carrboro’s town hall; $400,000 for vehicle replacements; $250,000 for playground resurfacing; $250,000 for playground replacement; and $65,000 for buffered bike lanes on North Greensboro Street.

Property tax pangs

The FY 2025-26 budget sets a tax rate of 0.5653 on every $100 of taxable real estate. That’s a cut from the current rate of 0.6044, but due to Orange County re-appraising property this year, it means taxes go up. It would take a 0.4531 rate to be “revenue-neutral,” bringing in no more than the current fiscal year.

Homeowner Steve Benjamin said even at the revenue-neutral rate, he’d be paying more in taxes, as would most of the other homeowners in Carrboro he’d researched. Finance Director Chaz Offenburg said the neutral rate was for overall tax revenues, not property-specific. It factors in that some owners will appeal and get a lower valuation and that some properties, such as schools, are tax-exempt.

Council Member Catherine Fray said she’d heard complaints from some neighborhoods that the increase in valuation, which is supposed to represent the potential sale price, is disproportionate to the real market value. While property owners can appeal a valuation, in the long run the best solution, Fray said, is growth.

Fray said that if new homes aren’t built, existing property has to shoulder all the burdens of any tax increase, and increases will happen. In Chapel Hill, for example, the growth rate is 1%. If inflation increased by 2% a year, “the tax rate would have to go up 1% annually forever,” just to keep up with inflation.

Haven-O’Donnell proposed the council postpone a budget vote until a later June meeting to give them more time to consider changes. Instead, the council voted 6-1 to approve the budget, with Haven-O’Donnell voting no. The new budget takes effect July 1, the start of the 2026 fiscal year.

You can read the complete budget proposal on the town’s website and watch the meeting streaming on Carrboro’s YouTube channel.

Fraser Sherman has worked for newspapers, including the Destin Log, the Pensacola News-Journal and the Raleigh Public Record. Born in England, he’d still live in Florida if he hadn’t met the perfect woman and moved to Durham to marry her. He’s the author of several film reference books and has published one novel and several short story collections. This reporter can be reached at: Information@TheLocal Reporter.press