WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH — Despite last month’s discussions of a potential tax increase, Town of Wrightsville Beach staff are drafting the 2026-2027 budget proof with the same low tax rate as last year. To meet rising costs, they are projecting higher revenue from already available income streams.
“Typically we would make pretty conservative revenue estimates, especially when we think about parking or sales tax,” Town Manager Haynes Brigman said at the final budget workshop on March 24. “Just due to our operating expenses and the pressures there, we’ve had to take a less conservative approach on those projection of revenues.”
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Brigman suggested to the Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen the tax rate stay at 5.31 cents per $100 value in the next fiscal year. His preliminary numbers indicate the $19-million budget is $5 million less since 2025-2026. The seeming decrease in budget, however, can be chalked up to the absence of the capital improvement projects, which last year were included in budget projections for 2025-2026. The upcoming budget year is absent of the capital improvement projects, which will all be funded through the capital reserve fund.
The town also has been able to reduce expenses with its governing board operating budget — at $1.15 million, a 53% decrease or $611.118 — parking program management — at $1.26 million, a 20% decrease or $257,418 — and information technology at $592,500, a 2.91% decrease or $17,242.
Wrightsville Beach has been supplementing rising costs with excess funds generated from previous years, due to conservative estimates. For example, in 2023-2024, the town estimated about $5.2 million coming from its parking program; instead, Wrightsville Beach earned $6.9 million. The year before the town projected $4.7 million but it made about $5.7 million in parking.
A similar trend has occurred with sales tax; in fiscal year 2023-2024, Wrightsville Beach projected making $650,000 but instead earned about $815,000.
However, the extra funds are dwindling due to increased costs.
First, employee expenses are rising; as previously reported by Port City Daily, Brigman proposed at last month’s budget workshop a 5% merit bonus and 2.4% cost-of-living adjustment. However, numbers were not discussed further in last week’s workshop. In addition, the town is planning to hire more police officers for a total of 30 for the 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. shift, where the department sees the most activity.
The new recruits follow last year’s addition of nine new employees, which cost the town roughly $800,000. Brigman called town employees the town’s “greatest asset” but also its “greatest expense.”
Utility costs are also increasing, which has affected the town’s operating budget. Wrightsville Beach now pays the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority to manage its water and sewer mains.
The merger between the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority and Wrightsville Beach was finalized at the end of September 2025, resulting in the closure of the town’s sewer and water fund. The yearslong merger was needed to ensure a sustainable water supply for the town.
Water and sewer utilities for town-owned buildings was estimated in the 2025-2026 budget to cost $120,000.
However, Brigman noted after the merger, CFPUA changed its rate structure. Rates and fees are based on a fixed water meter size — water meters measure the volume of water used by a property owner — and a consumption charge per 1,000 gallons. In 2025, CFPUA also raised its rates by $5.12, or 6.9%, which went into effect July 1, 2025.
Wrightsville Beach is also contending with a potential decrease in its share of New Hanover County’s sales tax revenue.
New Hanover County distributes sales tax shares to municipalities in the county based on each government’s tax rate. Because Wrightsville Beach has the lowest tax rate of the municipalities in New Hanover County, it receives the least amount of sales tax profit.
Other municipalities are discussing increasing its tax rate. Most notably, the City of Wilmington has had discussions about a potential tax rate increase of up to 4 cents. If the city does raise the tax rate, it will eat into Wrightsville Beach’s share of the sales tax.
The town’s property tax revenue also experienced a decrease from expected numbers. Property revaluations from 2025 resulted in a 67% increase in property values on average; however, Wrightsville Beach had 269 appeals, resulting in a loss of $70,000 for the town.
Brigman expressed concern about the trend of rising appeals; the next revaluation for New Hanover County is in 2029.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there and maybe it’s not as big of a trend as maybe it appears to be,” he said.
Though the town still expressed no interest in adjusting the tax rate, the mayor shared concern about the dwindling revenue.
“We were trying to be revenue neutral, not revenue negative,” Mayor Ken Dull said.
“We’re revenue negative to about $70,000 right now,” Brigman replied, “which in the grand scheme of things is not terrible in a $19 million budget, but again, it’s a trend we want to pay attention to. … If you think about $70,000, that’s a recurring revenue loss. That can pay for one employee.”
The town’s capital improvement plan is paid for by a percentage from the general fund. According to the 2025-2026 budget, the town started out with $11.24 million in the capital reserve fund and the town was projected to start the 2026-2027 fiscal year with $5.6 million.
The new budget so far has $901,000 in projects planned, but Brigman said it could be up to $1.5 million. Projects include six new vehicles, including four patrol cars, one administrative vehicle, and one park ranger vehicle for the police department. Other costs are:
- More than $400,000: Historic Square parking lot
- $50,000: Beach access improvements
- $15,000: Cybersecurity risk assessment
A draft budget will be officially presented to the Board of Aldermen at its April 14 meeting. A public hearing will take place in May for feedback and adoption of the budget is also scheduled for then.
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