OAK ISLAND — Despite rising costs and levels of service, town staff have not introduced a tax rate increase in Oak Island’s 2026 budget, though utility fees will escalate.
“I’ve never voted for a tax increase and I was so petrified that I’m gonna have to justify voting for one,” council member Bill Craft said before thanking staff for finding a workaround at May 12’s council meeting.
Oak Island’s tax rate is currently $0.20 per $100 value and will remain the same in 2026-2027. The town’s total recommended budget for the upcoming fiscal year is $73.4 million, with the general fund balanced at $25.8 million.
READ MORE: CB budget: Residents weigh costs and benefits, including $12M Boardwalk buy
ALSO: CFPUA budget passes with 6.65% customer increase
CATCH UP: ‘From 100 to zero’: Oak Island scraps parking space minimum, council divided
A public hearing for the budget will be held on May 26. The budget has to be voted on by the end of June per state regulations.
Staff was able to balance the budget with an approximately 1.7% growth in property and sales tax revenues; Brunswick County last did a property revaluation in 2023. It resulted in a 55% average increase; its next revaluation will take place Jan. 1, 2027, which likely would come with another increase. Brunswick County is one of the fastest growing in the country; the county has grown by 24% between 2020 and 2024. The population growth could then bring in more property tax revenue.
Wastewater and solid waste funds will have rate increases in the next budget. Wastewater rates rose by $0.96 per 1,000 gallons, so customers will pay $3.84 more a month (this is based on 4,000 gallons, the average customer usage), and solid waste collection will increase by $2.15 on a customer’s bill.
According to Oak Island staff, the increases are a result of the rising costs to treat water and waste, particularly for biosolids, which rose by $1.79 per 1,000 gallons this year.
“We did not pass along the full increase to the citizens this year,” finance director Helen Brank informed council.
This year’s recommended budget is down about $40 million from the year prior, primarily due to 2025-2026’s inflated numbers resulting from a $33-to-40 million beach renourishment project that was completed Jan. 31. Oak Island hosts major beach renourishment projects every five to six years.
The general fund budget, however, decreased by about $2 million between what was budgeted last year to what is being budgeted in this next fiscal year. The town planned to spend $27 million, but was able to shore up savings by $7 million in 2025-2026 by not spending as much as predicted. In order to cover rising costs for next year, the town has appropriated a little over $3 million from the savings into the recommended budget.
As has been a trend across the tri-county region due to rising healthcare and living costs, Oak Island is contending with steeper employee salary expenses, as well as insurance and retirement costs, which made up a bulk of the charges at more than $2 million.
Town staff budgeted an up to a 3% merit increase and a cost-of-living-adjustment of 2% and are expecting to improve and introduce services on the island, with most of the updates involving public safety. This includes a new K-9 program for the police department (roughly $50,000), compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act for public access points and town facilities (almost $800,000), and a new part-time beach safety services division as part of the fire department ($255,000).
Upgrades
Several new budget items are incoming. First, the town is not ADA compliant in many public areas of the island; several of the town’s buildings were built in the 1980s, though all public buildings are necessitated to meet certain requirements under the ADA. Additionally, 42% of the town’s population is over 64, and the council has made it a priority to bring its buildings and “nature areas” up to code.
The act includes beach accesses. Specifically, it requires beaches to have ramps or mats installed allowing wheelchair access.
The issue was first noted at the April 28 budget session. Councilman Craft questioned whether the island town was off the hook a little bit when it comes to beach accesses because they comply with the Coastal Area Management Act, since Oak Island is not a federal beach. Chatter has existed online whether non-federal beaches are required to be completely ADA compliant; they are.
“Like the crossovers,” he said. “I’ve been told that our crossovers over the dunes are not ADA compliant, but they’re within the guidelines that CAMA or whoever accepts.”
To which councilman Tommy Brown replied: “We are so far behind keeping this town aligned with — pause the recording — any requirement by any law for a number of reasons.”
To bring all the town’s facilities into ADA compliance, the town is planning on installing ramps for buildings, including at the recreation and community centers, paving pathways along nature trails and adding in mobility mats at beach accesses. The budget impact is an additional $725,000.
Other notable costs include technology updates for security surveillance improvements for $50,000 and street development. The town has been improving the sidewalks in its commercial district, a project whose first phase was recently completed in March.
A greenway and bike path are set to be added to Yacht Drive and will cost roughly $1 million, to be paid for as a capital outlay. Located along the Intracoastal Waterway, it is already popular for cyclists and tourists.
Oak Island is also planning to do a partial re-paving or resurfacing of a number of streets yet to be determined for another million dollars.
Also added into the budget is streetscape planning, totaled at $50,000, which doesn’t include construction. Council has been talking about updating the commercial district and Oak Island drive — part of the heart of the island.
Streetscape planning has been addressed for months as council has discussed a unified development ordinance update, particularly decreasing façade requirements for buildings, among other amendments meant to simplify the permitting and approval process, and address existing nonconforming structures. This goal is represented in the upcoming budget as a façade improvement program to be added.
Also noted in the recommended budget are enhancements for Oak Island Drive and new street signage, while other improvements include new trash cans for the parks and planting 100 trees to offset those lost to development.
Police and fire
Oak Island is also eager to enhance its public safety by recruiting and retaining more employees — the fire department wants to hire three people and the police department has two vacant positions. It also wants to provide the departments with better equipment and resources.
The police chief requested two canines to start a K-9 program, including two tracking and narcotics dogs who would be able to sniff out drugs, particularly at the airport. The dogs will also serve as security if needed.
“A successful program brings in more [money] as well,” Brown said.
Through the legal process called civil asset forfeiture, U.S. statute allows law enforcement to seize cash, vehicles, and real estate if it’s suspected to be related to criminal activity. These items are often confiscated when a drug dog sniffs out drugs and alerts an officer; the officer is then permitted to search and seize the drugs on the suspect. The suspect would need to prove innocence to get their property back; if convicted the property could be sold for profit.
Police vehicle maintenance costs are increasing to $120,000 up from the $50,000 in the 2025-2026 fiscal year, according to town documents. This is to cover upfitting the leased vehicles to be suitable for official use.
$70,000 was also budgeted to spend on leasing new passenger vehicles for the department. Staff explained to Port City Daily that the town leases all commercial and passenger vehicles, but larger equipment and emergency apparatuses, like a ladder truck, are purchased or financed. Leasing is done to ensure “consistent replacement schedule, longer factory warranties, and more sustainable fleet maintenance.”
The police department’s building will also be renovated alongside town hall — primarily its HVAC system and surveillance system, both of which are about 20 or more years old. The former will cost $160,000 to replace and the latter will cost $50,000.
In the fire department’s budget, fleet operations and maintenance totals $120,000, the same as what was budgeted last year. The fire department is in need of financing a new ladder truck because of last minute issues with an old truck staff had not planned for, noted at the April 28 budget session. Though, both the trucks incoming are replacing vehicles more than 20 years old. 2027 also includes an additional $14,000 for a leased passenger or commercial vehicle.
Capital outlays for the fire department total $240,000, which will cover the replacement of 248 fire hydrants and two new 4×4 vehicles for the beach services unit. The town is also aiming to hire new fire safety personnel, with the department requesting three new staff members, as it has slowly been growing its force over the last few years, according to Chief Lee Price.
“Fully staffed — if we meet the standard — is 12 people working each day,” Price explained to the councilmen at the budget session. The three new staff members would bring the department up to the standard.
Price referred to the National Fire Protection Association, an international nonprofit devoted to ending death, injury, property damage, and economic loss due to fire, electrical, and related hazards. The organization lists a set of standards for fire stations to adhere to; rule 1710 dictates there be at least four personnel per fire apparatus, among other staffing and deployment standards.
The town is also putting an unspecified amount of money toward repairing leaks in Fire Station 3 and the town will spend $300,500 on Fire Station 1 renovations.
The town has more than $643,000 in debt, incurred due to the future purchase of a ladder truck for the fire department and plans to pay off remaining debt for two other fire trucks purchases. Oak Island is expecting to get the third vehicle for the 2027-2028 fiscal year, but has factored in roughly $840,000 to cover debt services and the interest amounts. The debt is expected to be paid off by 2030, according to the finance director, Helen Brank.
“What we’ve seen in this year’s budget, in my opinion, is nothing short of a miracle,” councilman Terri Cartner said, calling staff’s work “unbelievable.”
[Ed. note: The article has been updated to clarify the number of streets to be re-paved have yet to be determined. The 54 known streets to be re-paved is factored into the current budget, not the upcoming one. The article has also been updated to provide a specific date for the public hearing.]
Have tips or suggestions for Emily Sawaked? Email [email protected]
At Port City Daily, we aim to keep locals informed on top-of-mind news facing the tri-county region. To support our work and help us reach more people in 2026, please, consider helping one of two ways: Subscribe here or make a one-time contribution here.
We appreciate your ongoing support.
