From pay raises to the Thermo Fisher building: 7 things to know about Wilmington's budget

In the next year, the city of Wilmington could spend more than $351 million to buy downtown’s Thermo Fisher building, raise employee pay and fund various street and capital improvement projects.

The spending is part of a recommended budget, which was presented Tuesday to the Wilmington City Council. Despite earlier indications that the purchase of the Thermo Fisher building would mean a property tax increase for city residents, property taxes will remain the same in the coming fiscal year, according to Wilmington Budget Director Laura Mortell.

In the coming year, Wilmington can expect to see the amount of property and sales tax collected by the city continue to grow. Even as the area continues to grow, city staff continue to monitor economic conditions as inflation and other factors add some uncertainty, Mortell told city council members.

More: Empty no more? Here's what could be in store for 7 vacant downtown Wilmington spaces

More: What's happening to the Salvation Army site in downtown Wilmington? Here's the latest.

City staff work with the Wilmington City Council to develop the budget each year. They've held three work sessions, the first in November. The final budget proposal is developed using several policy documents, including the city’s strategic plan, mission and specific policy focus areas.

No property tax increase

City residents won’t see their property taxes rise over the coming year. Instead, the tax will remain at 39.5 cents per every $100 in property valuation.

An initial financing plan for the purchase of the Thermo Fisher building included a tax increase of 1.5 cents per $100 of valuation. As the city received new information from New Hanover County about property tax estimates, they were able to eliminate the tax increase from the financing plan.

The city does have plans to shift how collected property tax is set to shift with the city putting more of the tax into its debt service to help fund the purchase of the Thermo Fisher building.

For every 39.5 cents in property tax collected, the city currently puts 32.37 cents into its general fund and 7.13 cents into the debt service fund. In the next fiscal year, 31.25 cents will be put into the general fund and 8.25 cents will go toward the debt service fund, according to Mortell.

Thermo Fisher buy looms large

The city’s buy of the Thermo Fisher building can be found throughout its recommended budget.

The document, which refers to the building as the Northern Downtown Municipal Complex, outlines the cost of the building, its neighboring parking deck and the new employees that will be needed to maintain and repair the facility.

City staff are working through the due diligence process ahead of a potential $68 million purchase of the building, parking deck and surrounding land. The purchase will be funded through debt service funds and limited obligation bonds.

The city has plans to hire eight new full-time employees to repair and maintain the structure at a cost of approximately $700,000.

Employee pay to rise

The city has plans to raise the pay for its employees to keep up with other Cape Fear area employers.

The city has budgeted more than $3.9 million to raise employee pay and add merit pay. The city will also invest $16,400 to increase the stipends of the mayor and council members. The raise is part of a three-year effort to bring the leader’s pay into range with other comparable cities.

The city also plans to invest $235,600 in raising the pay of employees with commercial driver’s licenses and will raise the minimum wage for 39 city positions from $15 to $16.07, according to Mortell.

A new city department

In an effort to focus on city services, the city has plans for a new department called Housing and Neighborhood Services.

Existing departments would shift into the new department, including code enforcement, the city’s compliance officers and community development loan administration. Establishing the new division is expected to cost the city more than $995,000 to make the department shifts and hire a new director.

Police and fire department upgrades

This year’s funding for the Wilmington Police Department includes several technology and personnel upgrades. Funding includes a $650,000 investment in upgraded tasers and server technology for body camera video storage. The police department will also receive more than $50,000 to lease a horse facility and warehouse to store specialized vehicles.

The Wilmington Fire Department will add a new fire marshal and battalion chief position for more than $154,000.

Street improvements coming

The budget sets aside $16.2 million for street and sidewalk preservation. Of that total, $8 million will be used for street rehabilitation across the city.

The city will also invest $2 million in the demolition and reconstruction of the Front Street Bridge and $299,000 in addressing emergency access issues along Towels Road. Both projects received some funding in last year’s budget, but the latest allocation will mark the final funding installment, Mortel said.

STAY CONNECTED: Keep up with the area’s latest development news by following our Growth and Development page on Facebook. 

Slight trash, parking fee increases

City residents can expect to see some slight increases in fees over the next year.

Those receiving trash and recycling services can expect to see an average increase of $2.40 each month in service fees. The increased cost stems from several sources, including an increase in landfill fees, increased costs tied to disposing of recyclables, increased wages for those with a commercial driver’s license and the purchase of the city’s new automated garbage trucks.

The budget also includes a one percent increase in stormwater fees and a slight increase in parking rates.

What comes next?

The Wilmington City Council will hold a public hearing on the recommended budget at its May 16 meeting. The council is then tentatively scheduled to hold a final budget work session on May 26.

The budget will have its first reading and a vote from the council on June 6. A second reading is scheduled for June 20. The approved budget will take effect on July 1.

Reporter Emma Dill can be reached at edill@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington's budget funds street upgrades, Thermo Fisher building buy