TOPSAIL BEACH — It took a rescinded vote and a 3-cent drop in the tax rate to get the Town of Topsail Beach budget passed, but commissioners took the final vote to do so last week.
READ MORE: Topsail Beach residents, commissioners disagree on new public safety building plans
ALSO: Surf City residents face 30% property tax hike to fund essential services, growth
The commissioners signed off on the fiscal year 2025-26 budget at a June 17 special meeting organized for approving the budget. Commissioners John Gunter, Joe Bell and Nancy Thomason voted for the budget with Tim Zizack and John Best voting against, but didn’t indicate why. Port City Daily reached out to every commissioner for this piece, but only Gunter responded.
“There are things we would have liked to included, like the town’s intent to have 10 paid firemen. This would have been the ninth that we added during the coming year, so we’re not doing what we said we would do,” he said. “But everything we are doing is meeting the most essential needs of the town, I would say.”
A week prior, the board held a contentious meeting to initially approve the spending plan. They passed a 3-2 vote — again with Zizack and Best dissenting — but then Gunter motioned to rescind the vote. He said he was confused about the vote, thinking accepting the new property tax rate— 51 cents per $100 value, up from last year’s 40-cent rate — was separate from approving the budget.
After the town manager and town attorney confirmed approving the tax rate inherently approved the budget ordinance, Gunter moved to rescind the board’s vote for further discussion; it passed unanimously.
Since the June 11 meeting, the proposed tax rate decreased to 48 cents, which still represents a 20% increase from last year’s 40-cent rate. 31.5 cents of the new rate will go toward the general fund, 14.5 cents for beach, inlet, and sound initiatives, and two cents for capital improvement projects. Each penny on the tax rate is worth $75,346.
At the June 17 meeting, Town Manager Doug Shipley announced cuts to the general fund, specifically the elimination of a proposed town employee salary study and a new full-time firefighter position, which enabled the three-cent reduction from the initially proposed 51-cent tax rate.
Only two residents addressed the budget during public comment. Topsail resident David Kirkland questioned how money has been spent by the town in the last few years and was concerned with the county’s upcoming property evaluation next year if it would also mean another tax rate increase inFY2026-27.
Gunter said it’s too early to determine without figures in hand.
“We have no idea what the reval will be,” he said. “Some people are saying it’ll be 20% but the New Hanover reval was much higher than that. The other beaches down in New Hanover County are dealing with revals up around 80%. We don’t think ours will be that high, but we don’t know.”
The town’s general fund is projected to have total revenues of $7.8 million. Of that, $4.3 million comes from property taxes, $2.5 million in state funds, and $500,000 in refuse collection fees. Key expenditure areas include $1.4 million for the Topsail Police Department, $960,000 for the Topsail Fire Department, and $1.1 million for town administration.
Outside of the tax rate, water rates will also see an increase, from $7.06 to $7.76, and the water facility fee will rise from $36 to $40.
The beach, inlet, and sound portion of the tax rate increased by 7.75 cents from last year in order to have sufficient funding for beach nourishment projects as needed. The FY25-26 budget includes $1.2 million in the BIS fund for any future projects and expects total BIS revenues of $4.4 million. Gunter told Port City Daily properly funding BIS was a priority for the town and himself.
The last major beach renourishment project for Topsail Beach was completed in 2020. The project involved placing 2.2 million cubic yards of sand along the town’s shoreline and cost $24.6 million funded by a combination of federal and state funds.
“Much of the tax increase this year was driven by having to make sure in the next three years or so, we have that BIS fund where it needs to be, in terms of millions of dollars so that we can pay for a renourishment,” Gunter said. “It was increased this year, and most likely will have to be increased again next year.”
For capital improvements in the budget, $500,000 is for renovations to the town hall building, $400,000 is appropriated for the new public safety building, and $140,000 for multiple fire hydrant replacements. The total appropriations for the CIP fund amount to $1.5 million.
The construction of the public safety building has been highly debated among commissioners since options for the building were presented in March. The town received an $8 million grant last year for construction, but has yet to decide on what the building will look like. The total cost is estimated to be about $9 million now.
The options for the public safety building included:
- Option 1: A three-story building housing fire, police, and town hall staff, estimated to cost approximately $12.6 million.
- Option 2: A two-story building housing only fire and police departments, estimated to cost around $9.1 million.
- Option 3: An $8 million, two-story building dedicated solely to the fire and police departments. However, this choice would not fully meet the fire department’s stated needs for adequate space for personnel, equipment, and vehicles.
Gunter said the building will likely be a combination of options two and three. Commissioners are now working with design firm Thomas Construction to finalize designs.
“We’re working hard to make sure we meet all of the needs that were identified by the police chief and the fire chief,” Gunter said. “It’s going to be tight, but we’re going to find a way to do it.”
Have tips or suggestions for Charlie Fossen? Email charlie@localdailymedia.com
Want to read more from PCD? Subscribe now and then sign up for our morning newsletter, Wilmington Wire, and get the headlines delivered to your inbox every morning.
