WILMINGTON — Though much of the Wilmington City Council’s meeting this week was dedicated to deciding a special use permit, council has officially approved its FY25-26 budget and began the upset bid process for one surplus property and a Skyline Center lease.
READ MORE: Wilmington council grapples with revenue deficit, capital projects in budget meeting
The $306.6-million budget passed 6-1 with Republican Councilmember Luke Waddell dissenting Tuesday night after its second reading.
The budget had no changes from the first reading on June 3, when Waddell didn’t vote for it because its property tax rate is not revenue neutral. The 2025-2026 tax rate is one-tenth of a cent more than a net-neutral rate of 28.15 cents because of city policy to round up to the quarter.
Waddell didn’t reiterate this point on Tuesday and the budget received little discussion. It is based on a tax rate of 28.25 cents per $100 of value, compared to the current 42 cents, though property owners should still expect to see an increase in this year’s tax bill due to revaluations this year. A taxpayer in Wilmington with an average property value of $238,300 will have a tax value of $364,408 next fiscal year, reflecting an annual increase of $28.59 or $2.38 monthly.
The additional municipal services district tax rate also decreased from 6.47 cents to 5 cents.
The city’s general fund, paid into from property taxes and used to pay out the most city services, is a $7.42-million increase over last year’s amount, largely due to an $8.6-million increase in employee pay. A new minimum wage of $17.38 per hour is included, along with a lowering of health premiums by $50.
The city also shifted pay scales to be more in line with market medians, including the WPD and Wilmington Fire Department, who received the addition of senior positions to help promote and retain emergency responders. WFD employees will also be offered free cancer screenings as part of the city’s health benefits.
Accommodating the employee compensation changes have required some staffing reductions, as part of budget cuts the city manager requested each department to make. These positions include the DEI specialist (the DEI director position also remains vacant), a zoning officer, an accountant, the assistant fire chief and administrative services manager at the WFD (both vacant), an IT administrative specialist, a small engine mechanic, an asphalt operator and an association transportation planner at the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.
The WPD’s mounted horse unit was also identified in the city manager’s budget exercise, though this $350,000 program will be retained after resistance from the public and Waddell.
Other budget highlights include $2.3-million to continue the city’s affordable housing initiatives, including gap financing of new developments, homeownership assistance, and safety and health-based home repairs.
The budget also includes more than $30 million in capital investments, including street and sidewalk repairs and stormwater improvements. The five-year plan was presented last year after the city estimated $487 million in capital funding needs, though there is only $113 million planned through 2029.
The city is also continuing to pay down debt from the purchase of the Skyline Center. Due to the sale of surplus property over the last year — including $1.7 million for three Chestnut Street properties, to be turned into a grocery store — the city can now move a quarter of cent of the property tax it was dedicating to the Skyline debt back to the general fund.
The city continues to sell surplus property and fill space in the Skyline Center, approving two upset bid processes Tuesday night. The city received bids to lease space on Skyline’s eighth floor and another for the purchase of Wilmington Police Department’s former Southeast Patrol Station. Both will now undergo solicitation for potentially higher offers.
The WPD used the station, located at 2451 College Road, from 2008 to 2023, when the building was deemed too outdated. It was listed for sale on Feb. 10; the city has since received an offer of $1 million from Vinny Inc.
As for the Skyline Center lease, the city received an offer to rent the entire eighth floor for 11 years, with two options to renew for an additional five years. Engineering consultant McKim & Creed — which regularly works with developers bringing projects before the city — made an offer of $541,920 annually for the 22,580 square feet of space.
Because the lease term is longer than 10 years, the city must treat the process as an upset bid.
The city already has 13 leases in the Skyline Center, with 80,000 square feet remaining. Its leases bring in $5.8 million in revenue that goes toward offsetting the costs associated with running the building. If the city were to accept McKim & Creed’s offer, the lease would generate between $5.7 and $6.5 million.
Any upset bids for both spaces are due July 3 and must be 10% of the first $1,000 of the original offer and 5% of the remainder.
Another special-use permit
More than an hour was spent discussing a special use permit request for a residential courtyard development on 5 acres at 5651 Greenville Loop Road. The property is located in the R-15 district, which allows for courtyard configurations with a special-use permit.
The permit came as the city is considering doing away with special use permits in favor of solely conditional zonings to make the process clearer and more open for public engagement. The city is awaiting a joint meeting with the planning commission to go over the elimination. However, the Greenville project would be allowed to continue even if the rules were changed because it was submitted when SUPs were allowed.
Property owner Chauncey Archer is proposing a 25-unit, single-family development arranged around two courtyards. Each unit will come with a two-story, detached garage to be used as bonus space, but not accessory dwellings.
Access to the project would be provided via a new private right-of-way through the site, which would run from Greenville Loop Road to the adjacent northern parcel. Access to the units and their associated garages is provided by a series of private drives within the site.
Site engineer Phil Tripp said this was done to ensure any future development to the north would have access to a public road, but that the city need not provide garbage service down the private drives; trash pickup will be covered by the development. Tripp explained there will not be garbage receptacles on site, with the development partnering with a company like Turtle Trash.
Though a traffic impact analysis was not required, engineers figured the development would generate 21 peak morning trips and 27 peak afternoon trips.
Special-use permits must be approved through quasi-judicial hearings, meaning council weighs evidence and witness testimony to affirm four statements:
- The use would not materially endanger the public health or safety if located where proposed and developed according to the plan as submitted and approved by the issuance of the special use permit
- The use meets all required conditions and specifications
- The the use would not substantially injure the value of adjoining or abutting property, or that the use is a public necessity
- That the location and character of the use, if developed according to the plan as submitted and approved, would be in harmony with the area in which it is to be located and in general conformity with adopted comprehensive plans, the CAMA plan, and adopted special area plans
Only people with “standing” — meaning able to provide expert testimony or prove they would be directly affected by the granting of the permit — are allowed to speak during quasi-judicial hearings. However, no one but those on the development team signed up to speak.
The development is among only a handful of courtyard developments presented before the city.
“The idea here is that you would have internal courtyards with houses that face the courtyard,” attorney Sam Potter said. “Instead of facing out towards the street, you have front porches and front yards facing inwards, essentially.”
Several council members remarked they liked the unique design, but David Joyner questioned evidence from the development team’s hired appraiser, who concluded it would not negatively impact surrounding property values.
“I hope this doesn’t come across as me trying to question your integrity or your professionalism or your capabilities; you’re experienced and capable,” Joyner said. “What I am doing is cognizant of the fact that if we vote in a way that the applicant does not like, they will walk across the street and file a lawsuit with the courthouse. And so I’m following every detailed step of this process.”
The appraiser provided his analysis to the council, also noting he is bound by professional standards outside of individual developments.
However, the biggest hang-up for council was the potential for the homes to be used as short-term rentals. Potter explained the intent is to sell to homeowners “primarily because this pattern was designed to create a community, a small community in a cluster.”
Both council members Waddell and Salette Andrews asked if the developer could include lease restrictions to clamp down on short-term rental use.
“These are important issues for us to consider,” Potter said. “I guess we’re not quite there yet … we just didn’t want to put the cart before the horse.”
Mayor Bill Saffo continued to press the issue: “I hate taking away people’s property rights, but this is kind of a unique concept that we have here.”
Eventually, the property owner agreed to require any leases of the homes to last at least three months.
The courtyard development received approval to move forward from council in a 6-1 vote, Joyner dissenting.
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
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